Broken Strings
by superhackaninja5
Summary: Damon died as a human in the battle against Klaus and the Originals. Now he's back as a new breed of vampire, the likes of which the world has never seen before,and he wants revenge for his death. And he's starting with Jeremy Gilbert.NOW COMPLETED.
1. Memorandum

Title:Broken Strings

Author:superhackaninja5

Rating:M

Summary:Damon died as a human. Now he's back as a vampire, and not any ordinary one, either. After drinking the blood of one of the strongest powers in the world, he now also has powers that other vampires, even Originals, can only dream of. And he wants revenge on Mystic Falls for his murder-and he's starting with Jeremy Gilbert.

Warnings:extreme slash, graphic violence, gore, swearing, heavy alcohol use;that's pretty much all I can think of right now. I'll add more later.

Disclaimer:don't own Vampire Diaries. But Damon is my husband(well, one of them anyways), that's why this story is about him. The title is a song by james morrisson and nelly furtado. Broken Strings. It was on an episode of Vampire Diaries so I thought it fit.

Hey, my first story that isn't about an anime. Granted there is a very slight crossover with Naruto involved, but the character doesn't actually show up so I don't think it counts.

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><p>Chapter 1:Memorandum<p>

I stood on the edge of the falls, watching the sun set through the mirrored lenses of my sunglasses. The sound of rushing water filled my ears from the waterfall behind me.

My eyes focused on the town below, watching its citizens scrambling into their homes or into the Grill to take refuge as the sun retreated in to the horizon, leaving behind a multi-coloured canvas;soon all those colours would mix and become black.

This used to be my home.

I used to do everything I could to protect this place;to protect _her_ and all her friends.I even surrendered immortality for them, but somehow, it still wasn't enough.

Even after the danger passed, I still had to lose my life and even now, I am not remembered as a hero. I died for her and she chose my brother.

Saint Stefan.

He only pretended to grieve for me. Inside, he was gloating;finally, he had Elena all to himself. No more competition;she loved him and only him, because the only other person she could have loved was dead.

I raked a rueful glance over the Mystic Grill, catching a glimpse of _her_ through the window next to her brother-Jeremy, I believe his name is, both looking just so...human. Such fleeting beings.

A slight sneer curved my pale lips. This used to be my home, but now it was going to become my victim.

I jumped down from the cliff, landing on my feet.

My vengeance starts now.

* * *

><p>(Elena's POV)<p>

I still couldn't believe it. I mean, I knew Klaus and the Originals were going to be hard to kill, but I never could have predicted just how much it would cost us to get rid of them. Stefan had to lose a brother and I had to lose someone I had cared dearly about.

It had only been a couple weeks since Damon died, but it seems like yesterday. The grief was still there, but it was a different kind of grief than I had expected.

I had always told myself that I only ever considered Damon a friend, but the grief I felt wasn't the kind I would feel for a friend;it was...stronger, somehow.

Both brothers proclaimed to love me, but in the end, it had been Damon who gave his vampirism and his life for me.

And yet, I still couldn't tear myself away from Stefan. He and I were together now. So why was his brother still haunting my dreams?

I sighed and Stefan looked over, a worried frown creasing his forehead. "What is it?What's wrong?"he asked quietly, draping his arm over my shoulders.

I shook my head. "Nothing,"I smiled to show him that everything was fine.

No sooner did I say that that I felt a sudden shiver rattle my spine. My mind seemed to freeze and my eyes were involuntarily drawn to a dark corner of the Grill.

There was a faint outline there, almost like a figure was standing there, concealed by the lack of light. I caught my bottom lip in between my teeth as my smile dropped.

Something was wrong;I could feel it.

"Elena, what-?"Stefan started to say, but whatever his question was got cut off by a loud scream from outside.

Everyone, including us, leapt out of our seats and rushed towards the front door to locate the source. When Stefan threw the doors open, I had to stop myself from throwing up.

Laying spread-eagled across the Grill's balcony was a dead woman. Blood drenched her white-blonde hair and her olive-skinned throat and her body was twisted into an unnatural position.

But that wasn't even the worst part;she was stripped to the waist and carved into her back was a message;

"**DO YOU MISS ME, ELENA?**

** -D** "

I didn't speak. I couldn't;I was in shock. I had to blink several times to reassure myself that I wasn't just seeing things.

The horrific image didn't vanish, so it wasn't just a nightmare. Damn.

"Elena?"Stefan said kindly, looking over at me, concern etched in his brow. My mouth was dry, so I could only open and close my mouth dumbly.

I thought I knew who "D" was, but that was impossible. I watched him get his heart ripped out, so how could it be him?

* * *

><p>Yeah, that was all. R&amp;R lemme know if I should continue.<p> 


	2. Phase One

Title:Broken Strings

Author:superhackaninja5

Rating:M

Summary:see chapter one

Warnings:see chapter one

Disclaimer:I, unfortunately, own nothing. Vampire Diaries is my favourite show and Damon my favourite character in it and that is all. This plot is mine, though and the whole idea of phantasmists(which will appear later)is mine, too.

So note:As far as the show goes, ignore the whole bloodline thing that came to light season 3 episode 18 because I happen to think that is the stupidest fucking thing ever. Klaus died, and so did the rest of the Originals, but the people they turned did not.

And a random thing:I've recently become super obsessed with Supernatural and am thinking of writing a fanfic for it at some point. Maybe when I finish watching up to season 7 cause I'm only on season 3 at the moment. But if anyone has any ideas for what that fic should be about, PM me.

Now on with the story.

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><p>Chapter 2:Phase One<p>

He threw the girl carelessly aside, her blood dripping from his lips like crimson rain. When her now boneless body hit the ground, he turned away from the ravaged corpse, slipping his sunglasses back on and licking his lips clean.

As the dark red veins receded into his skin and his eyes returned to their usual shade of steel-blue, they focused on the pile of bodies he'd left at his feet.

All carved to pieces, all drained of blood;if that didn't send a message, he didn't know what would.

His flawless, now clean white lips twitched into a slight smile. This was just a prelude, though;starting unrest, spreading terror with his presence while staying hidden in the shadows.

His real plan hadn't even begun yet-no, that was going to wait until Elena's little brother was alone tonight. He was the key;he needed a Gilbert and since there was no way Elena would acquiesce, the boy was the next best thing.

Through the dark lenses of his sunglasses, his eyes scanned the trees and the dense forest foliage around him.

He was going to need to find a better place to stage his attacks if he was planning to stay here long term.

Fog surrounded his legs, rising up to his knees, and making it even harder for human eyes to see clearly. Luckily, Damon's eyes were even more advanced than the average vampire, so he had no problem seeing through the thick, grey-ish mist.

It was becoming truly night now, the star-strewn sky turning a deep shade of indigo, but becoming shadowed almost instantly by heavy, obsidian cloud masses.

It looked like there was going to be a storm tonight;his kind of weather.

The corners of his mouth quirked.

The peace this town had achieved since Klaus and the Originals' defeat was going to be very short-lived. The ones who truly had no hand in his death would be spared as long as they stayed out of his way;but people like Elena, the witch and his brother were the one who would have to watch out.

They were the ones he had died for;they were the ones who only pretended to mourn his death and now, they were the ones who were going to pay.

Damon kicked aside one of the corpses. He didn't have time for clean-up, and this time, he wasn't trying to cover his tracks;he wanted people to know that Damon Salvatore had returned to Mystic Falls-and he was after revenge.

With that thought fixed in his mind, he turned and melted into the darkness as the sky was besieged by freezing rain.

* * *

><p>(Jeremy's POV)<p>

The rain started almost the instant that Elena and I arrived home, with Stefan close at Elena's heels.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Stefan, okay?I love you,"I heard my sister bid farewell to her boyfriend in a falsely cheerful tone at the front door;I knew the tone was fake because I had seen that tonight's events shaken her. Seeing your name carved into a dead girl's back would do that to you.

Since we had had dinner at the Grill, I headed straight upstairs after grabbing a bottle of water from the refrigerator.

I passed our bathroom and dropped my school bag onto the floor before flicking on the lights and shutting my door.

"Smart move, little Gilbert. We wouldn't want anyone hearing us,"

I froze at hearing those words coming form behind me.

I recognized that voice, but it wasn't one I'd ever thought I would hear from inside my bedroom, never mind the fact that, according to Elena, its owner had died several weeks ago.

My throat seemed to close up and I swallowed hard, trying to maintain my composure as I slowly turned around to face the speaker.

Sitting on my bed, looking utterly relaxed with his gloved hands laced behind his head and long legs crossed at the ankles, was Damon Salvatore.

My sister had told me that he had been turned human before he died, but looking at him now, I found that extremely hard to believe;although without his fangs out, it was impossible to separate him from a human.

But if that arrogant twist of his lips was anything to go by, he was definitely still very much a vampire.

When I opened my mouth to say something but nothing came out, Damon let out an icy, humourless laugh. "I've scared you into silence,"he gave me a sardonic grin, "It happens,"

"You're dead,"I was finally able to say flatly, still trying to force some feeling back into my numb lips.

"For almost two hundred years now,"Damon said matter-of-factly, showing his canines.

"What are you doing here?"I asked slightly hoarsely, my hands retreating into the pockets of my jeans so the vampire wouldn't see them shaking, "Elena said you and Klaus killed each other after all the other Originals had been defeated,"

"We did,"the vampire confirmed slyly.

I raised an eyebrow.

"Then how are you here?"I questioned blankly, not bothering to mask my confusion.

His bloodless upper lip curled.

"I was given some really powerful blood and it brought me back, malevolence and all,"he explained carelessly, being deliberately vague, I assumed.

I crossed my arms over my chest, not really sure if I believed that or not;it sounded rather sketchy, to be quite honest. But I didn't think Damon would tell me anything more than that, so I reverted back to my original question; "What are you doing in my bedroom?"

"It just so happens, _Jeremy_, that I need you for what I'm planning to do here in Mystic Falls,"the vampire said offhandedly as if it were a throwaway matter of no real importance.

"And what makes you think I'll help you?"I shot back defiantly, setting my jaw.

The elder's trademark Devil-may-care smirk curved his flawless lips, "Oh, I won't be giving you a choice,"

Then suddenly, his hand was closed around my throat and he was on his feet, pinning me to the wall so fast I barely had time to blink.

He slipped off his Predator sunglasses and those inescapable crystal orbs caught my brown ones effortlessly;I knew he was compelling me when he spoke in that silky, reverberating baritone.

"You're not going tell anyone about this meeting, but you are going to do whatever I tell you from this moment on, including dropping a line to your history teacher that I'm back in town when no one's looking,"the vampire intoned smoothly, tone leaving no room for argument.

"I'll do what you tell me from this moment on,"my mouth reiterated the words of its own accord, but inside, I was reeling.

How was he compelling me?I was wearing vervain;wasn't it supposed to prevent compulsion?"

As if he were reading my mind, Damon's free hand grabbed my wrist, idly fingering the vervain bracelet that Elena had given me about a year ago now.

"Vervain can no longer repel me in any way,"he stated coolly, his grip on my throat tightening fractionally, "You and I are two of a kind now;both of us have powers that are unusual for our species,"

The vampire's smirk widened for a split-second before it vanished, being replaced by a cold, emotionless mask.

He released me then, retracting his hand and dropping me on the ground to cough feebly to get air back into my lungs.

"What do you mean?"I quipped throatily, voice slightly raw from the suffocation. Damon just shook his head.

"Ask one of your dead girlfriends,"he replied cryptically before vanishing effectively, leaving me with far more questions than I originally had.

(Damon's POV)

I watched my target carefully from the shadows of her kitchen. She had no idea I was there and I intended to keep it that way-at least for a little while longer.

Meredith Fell, the doctor who used vampire blood to heal her patients. She didn't start out as someone I wanted to kill, but now she was just a means to an end;Elena cared about her now, so she had to die. And she wasn't going to be the only one, either;but she was going to be the first.

The lovely doctor was currently in the middle of making herself a late-night cup of coffee;so she was perfectly oblivious of my presence in her home.

That whole ''have to be invited in'' thing was, thankfully, null and void for me now-I could go wherever I wanted without having to wait for someone to invite me inside;so that's why I was able to be in her house without her inviting me in.

It was only when she made the mistake of straying too close to my hiding place that I decided to strike.

I leaped forward and clapped a gloved hand over her mouth and nose, steadily cutting off her air supply until she stopped struggling

When she slumped forward, I caught her around the middle and hefted her over my shoulder in a fireman's lift. I wasn't killing her here;she wouldn't be found for ages since no one spent very much time at her house, not even her.

So I walked out her front door and quickly sped to the only female vampire in town's house. I dropped the doctor's unconscious form down behind the door and moved to Vampire Barbie's bedroom.

She was, as I expected, asleep and completely dead to the world, pun intended.

The corners of my mouth twitched slightly as I suppressed a smirk. This was going to be way too easy.

I pushed her down so she was laying on her stomach, shoved my gloved hand through her chest and ripped out her heart.

The vervain was bound to burn, but Caroline's scream was cut off by a choking gasp as blood trickled sluggishly out of the corner of her mouth.

That's one down.

I grabbed her body and used her hands to snap Meredith's neck. I dragged them both out of the house and over to Elena's with another message on Vampire Barbie's back, written in her own blood.

Leaving them on her doorstep, I rang the doorbell before vanishing.

Elena was the one who opened the door-I wasn't surprised that she was still awake-and her expression when she saw the second message I had left her was one I wish I could have photographed;she looked as though someone had just punched her in the gut.

Her eyes were watering and her mouth was open in a silent gasp of pain.

"Caroline?Meredith?"he heard her choke, shaking her head as tears began to seep out of her eyes and she fell to her knees next to the two motionless females on the ground.

"You have a _Demon _on your tail, Elena,"I whispered silkily, repeating the words I had painted on Blondie's back with her blood.

With an icy smirk in Elena's direction I vanished into the night.

(Normal POV)

Elena shook with horror when she saw those eight words painted crimson across her friend's naked back; "**YOU HAVE A **_**DEMON **_**ON YOUR BACK, ELENA**

**-D**"

That signature reappearance was even more terrifying than the words themselves. And the play on words was not unexpected, either;but she was still fiercely in denial about who was doing all this.

It just couldn't be him. She had watched the hybrid rip his head off after somehow returning his humanity and setting his corpse aflame just as that white oak stake had pierced his stake.

But all the signs pointed to him;the pattern of girls drained of blood and both messages signed with the letter ''D'';it was impossible, but there was no other explanation.

Pulling her cell phone out of her pocket with a shaking hand, she dialled Stefan's number and held it up to her ear.

"_What's up?_"Stefan's reassuring tone greeted her when he picked up.

She swallowed hard through her tears before saying in a trembling voice, "Stefan, Caroline and Meredith, they're d-dead,"

Her voice cracked on the last word, but it didn't stop her from adding in a whisper, "I think it's.."She couldn't bring herself to say the name.

There was an ominous silence, then...

"_I'm coming over. Now,_"Stefan said abruptly.

The line went dead.

Elena pressed the ''END CALL'' button on the touch screen and in seconds, Stefan was on her doorstep, an arm around her shoulders as he read for himself the message left on Caroline's back.

"You think it's Damon, don't you?"he said finally, a worried frown wrinkling his forehead. Elena nodded mutely, feeling too horrified to speak.

Stefan looked back at the two girls briefly and shook his head.

"I'll admit, it fits his old pattern,"he conceded lowly, "But Damon is dead, Elena. You and I both saw him killed with our own eyes."

* * *

><p>(Normal POV)<p>

Damon stood in the center of the cemetery, sunglasses firmly in place over his cold blue eyes and arms crossed, clearly waiting for something.

A shadow appeared across from him, shrouded from head to foot in a dark cloak and an obsidian mask which encircled his endless, inhumanly empty eyes.

"Your plans?"the shadow broke the silence in a voice completely devoid of emotion, its lips barely moving in order to form the words.

"Coming along quite nicely, actually,"the vampire responded smoothly, a corner of his mouth slightly upturned.

The shadow nodded.

"And the girl?"

"I'm keeping an eye on her. I'll have her and her brother soon enough,"Damon supplied matter-of-factly.

"Make sure you do. Her bloodline is the key to this whole thing. Don't forget that,"

"What about her brother?"Damon quipped archly, cocking a dark eyebrow.

"Jeremy Gilbert is something else entirely. He has more than a magic ring keeping him alive,"the cloaked figure explained softly, "With the girl's blood and his powers is the only way you will be able to truly take this town for your own,"

"Right then, we know who I'm going after first,"the vampire stated firmly, pushing his sunglasses firmly up his nose.

The two men disappeared.

* * *

><p>Man that took forever to finish. Question:do I portray the characters well?<p> 


	3. Bodies Will Fall

Title:Broken Strings

Author:superhackaninja5

Rating:M

Summary:see chapter one

Warnings:see chapter one

Disclaimer:I, unfortunately, own nothing. Vampire Diaries is my favourite show and Damon my favourite character in it and that is all. This plot is mine, though and the whole idea of phantasmists(which will appear later)is mine, too.

Whoo, finally getting around to typing up this chapter. It took me not that long to write this actually, which is quite the feat.

Note:the chapter title is a lyric from the song "Confession"by Bury Tomorrow. I thought it fit, considering all the people who die in this chapter.

Question:what do you think of this becoming a crossover with supernatural?

* * *

><p>Chapter 3:Bodies Will Fall<p>

~Flashback~

_He woke up, lying face down on the cold, hard earth and everything was black-although that was probably mostly because his eyes were still closed._

_He didn't understand what had happened;he had been dead and then he had been here. It didnt make any sense._

"_Open your eyes, vampire,"_

_Damon froze._

_That voice was so cold, it couldn't have been human;it was male, though, that much was for sure. It was also deep, smooth and utterly devoid of emotion._

_Deciding to throw caution to the winds, Damon did as the voice commanded and opened his eyes, rolling over onto his back so he could work himself into a somewhat more dignified position._

_Upon opening his eyes, he found himself in the center of a place he recognized all too well;the Mystic Falls was back at the site of his death._

_And standing in front of him was clearly the man who that inhumanly cold voice belonged to._

_The man cut a pretty impressive figure, even being several inches shorter than him;but what he lacked in height, he made up for in sheer menace. _

_Clad in a heavy black coat, gloves and boots with 3-inch blades jutting out of the toes, the man seemed to almost blend in with the darkness of the night sky surrounding them. Adding to that image was the fact that his hair and eyes were also similar shades of pure obsidian;though, conversely, his skin was as pale as the moon._

_Damon actually found it difficult to meet his eyes-they were the colour of pitch and completely empty;it was impossible to tell where the iris ended and the pupil began._

"_Who are you?"he finally managed to work up the nerve to say, forcing himself to look the shadow figure full in the face._

_The corners of the blacknette's sallow mouth twitched slightly, "I'm the one who brought you back to the land of the living."_

_The vampire blinked, frowning._

"_Why?"he questioned sharply, eyes narrowing in evident suspicion._

"_Because I have a task for you-and you're the only one who can carry it out,"the shadow replied in an icily matter-of-fact tone._

_Damon raised his thin, dark eyebrows._

"_And what exactly might this ''task'' be?"he quipped coolly, crossing his arms over his chest._

_The shadow cast him a glance with dead eyes._

"_I want you to destroy Mystic Falls,"_

"_I tried that once-it didn't work out so great,"Damon commented flatly, getting to his feet and brushing off his pants._

"_Yes, but that time you lacked one advantage that you shall have this time,"_

"_Such as?"Damon prompted stubbornly._

"_The powers of a God,"_

_The vampire frowned. "Who are you?"he repeated his initial question, this time with a far more guarded tone, his face becoming a mask of stone._

"_I believe I already answered that,"_

"_Your _name_,"Damon insisted pointedly, baring his fangs._

_The shadow shook his dark head. "My name is not important,"he stated cryptically, "All that matters is I brought you back to life-but I can kill you again just as easily if you don't do what I want,"_

"_Fine,"Damon surrendered, "To get these ''powers'', then, what do I have to do?"_

_His companion tugged off one of his silk gloves with his teeth and, drawing a knife from the inside of his cloak, severed the vein in his wrist._

"_You get ordinary vampire powers from drinking human blood. I wonder what powers you'll get from drinking Death's blood,"_

~End Flashback~

(Damon's POV)

Returning to the cemetery was probably not one of my better ideas, but it was necessary.

Something was here-something I needed in order to carry out my plans to destroy this town and the people who wronged me along with it. Plus it was the place where I had been brought back from the dead by the blood of the god of Death.

If that wasn't an unbelievable coincidence, I didn't know what was.

Not only that, but this was the site of the Originals' deaths and our fight, which had resulted in my death at the Hybrid's hands.

That wasn't exactly a pleasant memory, but it was a reminder that there were still some things in this universe that remained a mystery to me. Although, now there were few things that could stand up to me, thanks to my new powers.

Another day, a new phase to my master plan. I had originally planned to kill my next victims straight up, but apparently, it would be more prudent to keep them alive.

"I'm here. Now what the hell do you want?"a voice called from behind me, guarded and a suspicious.

My upper lip curled.

"I have a job for you, kid,"I said as I turned around to face the witch's new beau, doing that thing with my eyes that people seemed to hate so much.

Taking a step forward so I was directly in front of him, I reached up to slip off my sunglasses and locked eyes with him without blinking.

"How did you compel me?Bonnie said if I ingested vervain-"

"Bonnie was wrong,"I interrupted smoothly, clasping his chin so he was forced to look at me, "And now you're going to return to your mama vampire and drive a stake through her heart the first chance you get, and then drive a knife through yours,"

"I'm going to drive a stake through my mother's heart and a knife through mine,"Jamie repeated in a vaguely dazed voice, his eyes now unfocused and dilated like what usually happens when humans get compelled.

I inclined my head.

"Excellent. Now get out of here and forget everything except what I just told you. Tell no one about this,"I ordered, dismissing him with a flick of my fingers.

The human left without another word and I smirked. Well, that took care of one other vampire and made one less target in my way of getting to the witch.

Inhaling deeply, I replaced my black Ray-Bans over my eyes and left the cemetery behind.

It was time to take my plan to the next level.

* * *

><p>(Jeremy's POV)<p>

Getting to sleep after a night like the one I'd had previously had been next to impossible, but I had made it to the next day. And once the day started, it was just going to be a matter of getting Damon's message to Ric.

That wouldn't be too hard;after all, not only was he my history teacher, but my current guardian as well. I probably didn't even have to wait until school rolled around to tell him.

I was a little iffy on actually telling him about that-Damon had actually scared me pretty bad last night and I didn't really want whatever nasty plan he had in mind to be carried out-but unfortunately, I didn't really have a choice.

Compulsion, my permanent Achilles' heel.

I came downstairs to find Elena and Stefan together at the table, Elena staring, baggy-eyed and unfocused, into the cup of coffee she was cradling in her hands.

"Earth to Elena-anybody home?"I waved a hand in front of my sister's face to get her attention as I sat down on her other side, pouring myself a cup coffee as I did so.

Elena shook her head frantically, as if trying to dislodge something.

"Sorry, Jer, did you say something?"she asked offhandedly, forcing a guilty smile in my direction.

"Still upset over last night, are you?"

"I think we all are,"Stefan cut in firmly, putting a hand on Elena's shoulder and casting a furtive glance at Alaric.

I shrugged, "Well, I understand Caroline because she was one of your best friends and all-hell, I'm upset over her, too, but that Meredith person, I never even met her, so,"

"Ric cared about her, didn't you, Ric?"Stefan looked at our resident history teacher-slash-vamp hunter pointedly as if appealing to him to control me.

Alaric gave a hesitant nod.

"I did,"he admitted lowly, "But I can't go to pieces like I did after Jenna. I've got these two to watch out for now. So I'm not happy she's dead, but I'm not going to dwell on it, either,"

"Exactly,"I acceded in a supportive tone, "And that's how you deal with these things healthily,"

Then, thinking it over for a minute, I made a split second decision.

"And on that note, Alaric, can I talk to you in private for a second?"I asked calmly, trying to make it seem like this was a throwaway matter of no real importance, standing abruptly.

"Sure, Jeremy,"Alaric followed me out of the kitchen and into the hall. I was pretty sure Stefan's enhanced hearing could still pick up what we were saying, but it wasn't like we could go any further without it looking suspicious.

"So what's up?"Ric said curiously once we were safely out of human earshot.

I took a deep breath before responding, preparing to have my sanity questioned or something to that effect, "I saw Damon last night. And he wanted me to tell you he was back in town,"

Contrary to my expectations, when I said those words, Alaric didn't look at me like I was doing drugs again. His reaction was quite the opposite, actually;he heaved a vaguely rueful sigh and smiled grimly.

"Well, I guess that means my part of our deal is being called into effect,"he muttered, more to himself than to me.

Then, apparently realizing he had spoken aloud, he quickly turned his smile into a reassuring one.

"Thanks, Jeremy. Don't worry about it. Now you should get to school before your sister starts getting suspicious,"he waved away my concern , heading back into the kitchen without a backward glance, leaving me extremely puzzled.

Had he known Damon had returned from the dead before anyone else had?Even before the vampire had shown up in my bedroom the previous night?

I shook my head again.

Even if that was the case, there wasn't a whole lot I could do about it. I did what I was compelled to do-it was out of my hands now what Ric decided to do with the information I had just given him.

As I walked out the front door to get into my car and drive to school, I realized I was wrong.

The second I was outside the door, a leather-gloved hand clapped over my mouth and a smooth, velvety voice growled in my ear, "Well done, little Gilbert. But I'm afraid that's not all I need you to do,"

Something large and sharp was pressed into my hand.

"You're going to take this and, when you get to school, you're going to use it chop Tyler Lockwood's little hybrid head off, something I believe you're very talented at,"that voice intoned firmly in a tone laced with power.

Then, just like that, the hand over my mouth vanished and I was alone on the porch once again.

* * *

><p><em>2 hours ago<em>

(Normal POV)

Blood dripped sluggishly from the roof of the Mystic Falls high school onto the step beneath the entrance, forming a steadily expanding crimson puddle.

Body after body was thrown to the ground after they had been bled white and/or had their throats effectively torn out by the murderous vampire standing on the lawn.

He tossed the last dead student against the door carelessly, like the boy was nothing more than a bag of trash.

Well, that was what Damon considered him, anyways.

"Damon?"

A familiar female voice broke into his reverie in a simultaneously surprised and horrified tone, causing the vampire's upper lip to curl.

He turned around and found himself face-to-face with the mayor's wife, Carol Lockwood-someone who was once his friend.

"Carol,"he smirked.

The current mayor stared at him as the dark veins surrounding his eyes gradually faded back into flawless ivory skin.

"But-but you died;I-I don't even..."she was clearly struggling for words;such was the severity of her shock at seeing him in his full vampire glory and with blood seeping from his mouth like a particularly viscous wine.

Damon's smirk widened.

"_Was _dead,"

"But how-?"

"It's not important,"the vampire cut her off swiftly, eyes hardening into ice, "What is, is that you allowed it to happen. I gave everything to defend this town and you didn't even lift a finger to keep me from dying. And even after I died, I'm not even known as a martyr when I should be known as a fucking _hero_,"

He blurred from sight, reappearing behind her.

"I saved your life and it cost me mine,"he hissed into her ear, his frigid breath causing her to shudder involuntarily, "A mistake I am about to remedy,"

Carol choked when she felt him shove his hand through her back into the cavity of her chest and rip her heart out as easily as if he were tearing down a picture from the wall.

She slumped to the ground, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth as well as the hole in her chest.

* * *

><p>(Still Normal POV)<p>

Jeremy arrived at school with a stainless meat cleaver hidden in his jacket and a single goal in mind:kill Tyler Lockwood.

Compulsion is a fickle thing;whatever you're compelled to do becomes your sole ambition-but once you complete it, you don't remember the compulsion. Events blur and make it appear as though you were merely a victim of circumstance.

The cleaver was an uncomfortable weight against his chest, but he forbore.

After all, it wasn't like he had much leeway in how to kill a hybrid;it was either rip out his heart or chop off his head. And since he wasn't a vampire like Damon who ripped people's hearts out with the ease of any predator, there wasn't really a choice to be made. It was chop his head off or nothing.

The real challenge was going to be catching him unawares. His girlfriend had recently been killed so his guard was going to be up;he might even be expecting an attack.

But not from Jeremy. Not like this.

Now what Jeremy wasn't expecting was to get to school and see the front doors painted crimson with a thick red substance that looked uncannily like blood.

"Oh my god,"he heard someone next to him exclaim in horror as they spotted the pile of mangled bodies lying at the foot of the doors.

All Jeremy could do was stare.

More than half had their throats ripped out;bite marks littered every inch of their flesh. Arms and legs were covered with all sorts of different nuances of red.

And every last one of them had been sucked dryer than the desert.

Jeremy heard the comments of the students around him;this was almost frighteningly similar to the animal attack that occurred in the woods the previous night. All those victims had been sucked dry, too.

Vampires-it had to be the vampires again.

Or one vampire in particular, anyways, Jeremy thought ruefully, fighting down the mad desire to grin.

"_Students, school has been cancelled for the day until such time as we can solve the homicides that have occurred on our premises today_,"the PA announced in a voice of forced calm, "_Anyone found on campus will be suspended and under suspicion,_"

Students dispersed almost instantly, but Jeremy remained, hazel orbs staring, unblinking, at the carnage in front of him.

He didn't know why, but for some reason, the sight of all those mangled bodies didn't really bother him.

Perhaps it was because, at sixteen, he had already experienced so much death;Vicki, Anna, his parents, his aunt, Alaric-several times. Hell, he had even died twice before.

Of course, he had come back both times-but that was beside the point.

"Hey, Gilbert!"Tyler's voice called to him from what sounded like a few feet behind him.

Jeremy turned slowly to face the hybrid, but he didn't move to close the distance between them, standing stubbornly still as a statue.

"Didn't you hear? School's out,"the Lockwood said as he ran up to the younger, carrying his school bag over one shoulder so it hung awkwardly half-against his back.

He looked Jeremy over pensively, taking in his stony expression and the hand he had stuffed on the inside of his jacket, "And maybe that's good news for you, huh? You don't look so good,"

The male Gilbert gave him an artificial smile.

"You're about to look much worse, Lockwood,"

He suddenly lunged forward with inhuman speed that bypassed even that of a vampire, pulling the silver cleaver from his jacket and, in one swift motion, slicing the hybrid's head off clean as a guillotine.

And Tyler's body keeled over sideways, hitting the ground next to his severed head.

Wiping the bloodied blade off on Tyler's front, he tucked it back inside his jacket, stepped over the hybrid's body deftly and made his way back to his car.

* * *

><p>(Still Normal POV)<p>

When Jeremy got back to his house, Damon was waiting for him on the front porch, looking for all the world like he was supposed to be there.

Dressed in his customary all-black, he was leaning up against the wall next to the door, hands in the pockets of his leather jacket and legs stretched out in front of him with one ankle tucked behind the other.

Seeing the vampire standing directly in his path, Jeremy stopped in his tracks, bottom lip caught between his two rows of teeth and a decidedly neutral expression on his olive-skinned visage.

"I'll go out on a limb here and say the hybrid is dead now, isn't he?"Damon said wryly by way of a greeting, his dark head swivelling around to face the human youth, sunglasses flashing in the feeble sunlight.

Jeremy sighed and withdrew the cleaver from the inside of his jacket to show the vampire the still faintly rose-stained silver blade.

Eyes catching on the no longer stainless knife, Damon nodded his acceptance of the evidence, "Good. And that means it's time for phase three of my plan,"

Jeremy frowned.

"What's phase thr-? "he started to ask, but before he could get all the words out, the vampire's gloved hands covered his mouth and he vanished, taking Jeremy with him.

They reappeared in the center of a barren expanse of land, shaded by the leaves of the large, dark trees.

The second they were on solid ground, Jeremy lashed out, attempting to ram one of his elbows into the vampire's sternum, but the strike just seemed to bounce off him like hitting a brick wall. And Jeremy only succeeded in causing himself pain.

"If you stay still, I'll let go of you,"Damon told him, his voice a quiet rumble in the boy's ear as he slipped his hand off of Jeremy's mouth.

The male Gilbert made a low noise of grudging assent and he stopped struggling reluctantly, forcing his limbs to go slack.

"That's better,"the dark-haired vampire said mockingly, retracting his arms from around the boy and taking a step back so he wouldn't feel caged.

"Okay, so you brought me out here to the middle of nowhere;what now?"Jeremy questioned acidly, crossing his arms over his chest.

Damon smirked.

"Is that any way to talk to the vampire who's about to give you the secret to unlocking your powers?"he chided in a cold, derisive tone, the smirk not quite reaching his ice-cold eyes.

The male Gilbert shook his head, frowning in confusion, "You mentioned that before. What ''powers'' are you talking about?"

Steel-blue orbs locked on brown without blinking.

"You're a phantasmist, Jeremy-that's what ''powers'' I'm talking about,"the vampire declared matter-of-factly.

"A what?"Jeremy quipped blankly, uncomprehending, his twin eyebrows shooting up so high they were in danger of disappearing into his hairline.

Damon sighed.

"A phantasmist,"he repeated slowly;then, seeing that Jeremy's frown had only deepened, he elaborated, "It means you have the power to manipulate the dead;bring them back, bend them to your will, the like. That whole thing with your dead girlfriends wasn't just because Witchy got her voodoo wires crossed bringing you back to life,"

His companion blinked, processing this new revelation with scepticism furrowing his brow.

"How do you know this?"he managed to ask hesitantly, digging his nails into his palm to try and keep his composure.

The vampire let out a low, humourless chuckle.

"Let's just say I have a sixth sense about these things-and it takes a hell of a lot more than the power of some hundred-odd dead witches with sticks up their asses to bring back a gunshot victim when vampire blood doesn't do the trick,"he said evasively, upper lip curling.

Jeremy rolled his brown eyes expressively.

"Okay, fine, you won't tell me how you know about my so-called ''powers'', "he conceded grudgingly, "Then tell me this:how do I unlock them?"

"Interested now, are we?"Damon commented caustically, his rakish smirk growing.

When Jeremy just stared back, he let out another chuckle, "It's quite simple, actually;all you have to do is die,"

Without warning, he was directly in front of the boy, grabbing his hand and deftly removing the ring on his index finger.

Pocketing it, Damon moved his gloved hands to either side of Jeremy's head and they, in a single fluid motion, snapped it to the side with a violent crack and he slumped to the ground, unmoving.

When the human hit the ground, Damon seized his wrist, locating the artery to search for a pulse.

Conversely, when he felt nothing, his mouth twitched into a satisfied smile and he reached into his back pocket, withdrawing a plastic vial filled with thick black liquid.

Pulling the stopper out, he pulled Jeremy's head back and tipped the contents of the vial into his unresisting mouth and forced him to swallow it down.

Emptying the entire vial down the boy's throat, he tossed the plastic tube carelessly aside and gathered Jeremy into his arms, hoisting him over his shoulder carefully.

He vanished then, reappearing at the boarding house, which was currently empty since his brother was out with Elena.

He carried Jeremy down to the cell in the basement and set him down on top of the bed there while pulling his cell phone out with his free hand.

Dialling a number rapidly, he raised the sleek, black device to his ear while it rang.

"_Hello?"_Alaric's voice spoke when the other line picked up.

"Are you alone?"Damon asked him softly, ,leaning back against the drab, gritty wall and tucking a hand into his pants pocket.

"_Yes_."

"Good. I have the kid at the boarding house. How fast can you make it over here?"

"_I'll be there in ten minutes_."

Damon paused.

"Make it five,"

He hung up.

* * *

><p>~Flashback~<p>

_A__laric was sitting in his classroom at the Mystic Falls high school, eating his lunch when his cell phone began to ring from where it was perched on the edge of his desk._

_He lifted it up to eye-level to check the called ID;it read ''CALLER UNKNOWN''. Frowning, he hit the green answer button and pressed it to his ear._

_"Hello?"_

_"**It's been a while, hasn't it...Ric?**"_

_The history teacher froze. He knew that voice._

_"Damon,"_

_The latter gave a singularly humourless laugh._

_"**You always were a quick one. So now that you know who I am, how about meeting me in the front of your school? I have something?I'd like to discuss with you**,"_

_Alaric paused, as if considering._

_"I'll be there,"he decided abruptly._

_The line went dead._

_Alaric put down his lunch, pushed his chair away from the wooden desk and, stuffing his cell phone in his jacket pocket, exited the classroom hastily, heading for the front entrance._

_But before he reached the double doors, a black-gloved hand clapped itself over his mouth and a pair of strong arms dragged him backward into the men's washroom._

_The lights were off inside, so he wouldn't be able to see his captor even if he turned around._

_Cold breath rushed past his ear before his captor spoke._

_"I'm going to let you go, but if you make any moves against me, I will kill you,"the same dark, silky baritone he'd heard on his phone earlier tole him lowly, "Blink if you understand,"_

_Alaric blinked._

_The arms around him retracted and the hand over his mouth was removed;he coughed and stepped away._

_"I'm assuming you know who I am?"_

_Alaric nodded._

_"Damon-I knew you would figure out some way to cheat death again,"he commented archly, "So how did you do it this time?I know it wasn't Stefan, so what?"_

_"That's irrelevant. The reason why I asked you to meet was not so we could have a cozy catch-up;it was because I have a proposition for you-and if you're wise, you'll accept it,"_

_Both of his companion's sand-coloured eyebrows shot up in faint bemusement, "Oh? Let's hear it, then,"_

_"The only reason I was brought back from the dead was because someone had a job for me-and I'm going to need your help to finish it,"_

_"What do you need me to do?"his friend questioned slowly, eyes narrowing slightly in suspicion._

_Damon's eyes glowed like blood in the lack of light._

_"I need you to bring me Elena and my brother,"_

~End Flashback~

"What's the next step, then?You have the kid-what do you plan on doing with him?"

"I plan on using him, obviously,"Damon stated flatly, slipping off his Ray-Bans and tucking them inside his jacket, "Or to be more specific, I plan on manipulating his powers to my own advantages,"

Alaric scoffed.

"Well, he's already more or less completely vulnerable to your control, so you won't have much of a problem with that,"he commented dryly, casting a cursory glance at the the unconscious teen lying on the bed behind him.

The corners of Damon's mouth twitched slightly.

"You say that like it's a bad thing, Ric,"the vampire said in a mock wounded tone, his pale mouth quirking into a sly smirk.

Alaric rolled his eyes expressively, "Do you really intend to destroy this town?Or just kill everyone in it?"

"Not everyone,"Damon corrected smoothly, "Just the ones who have had the nerve to pretend to mourn my death when they really couldn't care less. And you're changing the subject. If you have a problem with me using the kid, feel free to say so,"

"I don't have a problem,"the history teacher denied his claim stubbornly, eyes showing no trace of dishonesty.

The vampire raised his dark eyebrows.

"Really?"he drew the word out into two distinctly disbelieving syllables, crossing his arms over his black-clad chest.

"If I did, I would tell you,"Alaric shrugged offhandedly as if it were a throwaway matter of no real importance.

"Whatever helps you sleep better at night,"Damon said indifferently;he scuffed the toe of his boot on the stone floor of the cell and switched topics, "Anyways, your part is something decidedly less complicated. You do remember what I asked you to do?"

Alaric inclined his head in an affirmative.

"Of course. I'll get it done,"he acquiesced firmly, waving a hand in the vampire's direction.

He turned to leave, but he was barely a step out of the cell before e head Damon call after him emphatically, "Alive, Ric. I need them alive."

* * *

><p>(Elena's POV)<p>

Since school was cancelled for the day, Stefan and I went back to my house to discuss the new attacks with Alaric.

I was in shock;first that girl at the Grill, then Caroline and Meredith;now over half the student body at my high school was dead-murdered-and I had a sick feeling that I knew exactly who it was that had killed them.

The three of us went into the kitchen where Stefan courteously helped me into a chair before sitting down next to me while Ric went behind the behind the counter.

"Coffee or tea?"he asked us.

"Well, it's the middle of the day, so, tea, probably,"I responded in an attempt to be flippant about it.

"Tea it is,"my history teacher said, picking up the kettle off the stove and turning on the sink to fill it with water.

"So who do you think killed all those people?"Alaric wondered almost conversationally, like he was only asking about the weather or something, "Or maybe I should say what?"

I shot a cursory glance at the vampire in the chair next to me before voicing my thoughts in a slightly shaky tone, "I think it was Damon,"

Alaric turned around, setting the two cups of tea in his hands down on top of the counter with his eyebrows raised.

"Damon?"he repeated in bemusement, frowning.

I stood up and picked one of the cups off of the counter in both of my hands, raising it to my lips and taking a sip;the second I did, I began to feel dizzy and I collapsed.

(Normal POV)

Alaric caught Elena before she hit the ground, gagging her with a length of cloth from his pocket.

Stefan stared at him in horror.

"Ric, what the hell are you doing?"he exclaimed furiously, advancing toward the human male threateningly.

But before he could get close enough to do anything, Alaric pulled out one of his vervain grenades.

"I'm following up on my end of the deal,"he replied tersely before flinging the grenade at Stefan, where it exploded in his face.

While he was distracted, Alaric pulled out a hypodermic needle and stabbed it into the vampire's neck, making sure to aim for the artery and emptying its full contents into Stefan's system.

Once he was sure both of them were fully comatose, he withdrew his phone from his pocket and dialled a number before holding it up to his ear.

When the line picked up, he uttered two words;"It's done."

* * *

><p>Damn, sixteen pages. That's the longest chapter yet. And next chapter is going to have to wait for a while because I have exams and things to study for so...yeah.<p> 


	4. The Sharpest Lives

Title:Broken Strings

Author:superhackaninja5

Rating:M

Summary:see chapter one

Warnings:see chapter one

Disclaimer:I own nothing except the plot &idea of children of the dark/phantasmists. Vampire Diaries is now, unfortunately, relegated to my second favourite show because Supernatural just became too awesome to not like more, but Damon is my favourite character in all shows, an exception of Itachi(my husband!)

Jesus christ this chapter took even longer than the last one. I hope it was worth the wait. Let me know.

Note:Chapter title is the name of a song by My Chemical Romance. It's a great song and I just thought it would fit.

On with the chappie.

* * *

><p>Chapter 4:The Sharpest Lives<p>

(Normal POV)

Once Alaric had left, the vampire's light blue eyes settled on the inert human male lying sprawled across the barren cot in the far side of the monochromatic cell.

The sigils were beginning to appear on the boy's skin, dilapidated and arcane, and his chest rose in a breath, telling Damon that he was still alive.

His suspicions were correct, then, as well as the shadow's, the one who resurrected him;Jeremy Gilbert was something else entirely-a child of the dark, just like him.

Breaking into his thoughts was the sound of Jeremy gasping as he shot violently up out of the cot, as if it had burned him.

"What-what h-happened?"he stuttered, panting as if he had just run a marathon. His dark eyes caught on the ink-black symbols crawling up his bare, olive-skinned arms, "What did you do to me?"

Damon looked away, a slight smirk building on his lips.

"I told you;in order to unlock your powers, you had to die,"

"So you killed me?Again?"his companion demanded sharply, struggling to get back on his feet.

"Would you rather I'd have thrown you in front of a bus or something?Would that have made it better?"Damon suggested mildly, still not doing Jeremy the courtesy of even looking in his direction.

"_No,_"Jeremy snorted incredulously, as if scandalized by the mere thought, "But you didn't have to break my neck again."He paused before changing the subject, "Did you take my ring?"

"Well, your powers have been awakened, so all you have to do is use them in order for them to be fully unlocked,"the vampire told him, deliberately ignoring his question.

"My _ring_, Damon-did you take it?"Jeremy repeated vehemently, enunciating each word clearly as if talking to a small child.

"Maybe,"Damon responded evasively, eyes flashing mischievously as if he were unwilling to commit himself to anything.

The phantasmist rolled his eyes, obviously irritated.

"Give it back,"he growled emphatically through clenched teeth, standing with his hands curled into rigid fists.

Damon grinned indulgently.

"Oh you mean this thing?"he withdrew the metal band from his jean pocket and wiggled it in front of his companion tauntingly, "Come and take it if you want it so bad,"

Jeremy made an almost animalistic noise at the back of his throat and lunged forward, but Damon blurred and moved rapidly out of the way.

"Not like that,"he scolded coldly, "Using your phantasmist powers;use the dead to get what you want from the living,"

As if subconsciously, one of Jeremy's hands lifted and pressed one of the black symbols etched into his forearm.

A smoky grey light filled the room, joined by an ink-like substance that was slowly coalescing into a humanoid shape.

When the smoke cleared, standing between the two males was a familiar face:the Original, Rebekah.

"Well, well, summoning an Original on your first try. That's quite a feat,"the vampire commented with apparent satisfaction, one of his midnight eyebrows cocked at the blonde in front of him.

She launched for him, but the younger vampire's foot shot out and he knocked her to the floor, boot pressing down on her ghostly white throat.

"Sorry, but my new powers more than cancel out yours, sweetie,"he stated coolly, showing his fangs.

"Fuck,"Jeremy swore;there was a sharp pop and the female Original vanished and Damon's boot hit the floor.

He tossed the ring deftly back to its owner. "You're going to need this if that's the best you can do,"he said in answer to Jeremy's questioning look when he caught it.

"Hey, it was my first time,"the boy defended, slipping the ring back onto his index finger, forehead wrinkled in a frown, "Give me a break,"

The vampire let out a tiny sigh, "I can see you're going to need a lot of practice at that. Among other things. Come on," He beckoned Jeremy to follow him out of the cell, "We have work to do,"

* * *

><p>The sun was fading fast, receding into a multicoloured backdrop that was slowly turning greyer by the minute.<p>

Two men underneath the gradually dying light stood at the edge of the forest, the lighter-clad between them busy pulling himself out of a large aperture in the dirt.

"You said this would be over in no time,"he said as he stepped back up onto level ground, brushing off the front of his jeans with obvious irritation.

"Did I?"his companion quipped dully, unaffected, without meeting the latter's piqued gaze;his light blue eyes were focused in the opposite direction; "Well, at least it's over now-for the time being, anyways,"

Jeremy snorted.

"That's very comforting, Damon, thanks,"he commented dryly, his tone heavy with irony.

A single corner of the vampire's mouth lifted.

"You got it, didn't you?"he switched topics abruptly, deigning not to pass comment on Jeremy's remark.

Rolling his dark eyes in exasperation, the brunette reached into the back pocket of his jeans and withdrew a flat, thin box that was about the size of a graham cracker and the colour of tinfoil.

The sun glinted off of the bright silver surface, creating a white shadow on the ground.

"What is that thing, anyways?"he asked as he handed it to the elder before tucking his hand into his front pocket.

Damon took it from him and turned it over between his gloved fingers, the silver metal standing out sharply against the black silk.

"Something that will make my plan much, much simpler to execute,"the vampire answered enigmatically, his eyes now focused on the box in his hands.

Stuffing it into his jacket pocket, he added shortly, "But nothing you need to worry about. Get home before someone realizes you've been missing almost all day,"

Jeremy heaved an exaggerated sigh and, brushing his hands over his jeans one last time to dislodge any remaining mud, he took off out of the woods, heading in the direction of his house.

As soon as he left, Damon's cell phone rang.

He pulled the sleek black device out of the front pocket of his leather jacket and held it up to his ear after checking the called ID.

Once he pressed the green answer button, Alaric's voice spoke into his ear, uttering just two words; "_It's done._"

Damon grinned.

"Excellent. Bring them on over to my place. I just need to grab a few things so you can let yourself in. See you in ten,"

He hung up.

* * *

><p>(Elena's POV)<p>

I woke up to the sound of voices and a horrible pounding in my head;probably remaining effects from whatever had knocked me out.

The voices were both ones I recognized;but one of them I hadn't hear in nearly a month.

I blinked a couple of times and the room slowly came into focus, showing two men in front of me and revealing that I was in the basement of Stefan's house. Stefan. Where was Stefan?

A frantic look around and I found him tied to a chair next to me, inches from the rows of vervain.

It was a good thing he was unconscious, otherwise he would probably be in agonizing pain right now.

My eyes focused on the black-clad male standing to my right and I uttered his name with pure shock:

"Damon,"

The dark-haired vampire smirked.

"Oh, so you do remember me,"he said dryly, blue ice slivers glinting maliciously.

I blinked again, completely dumbfounded.

"How are you still alive?I watched Klaus rip out your vampirism and kill you,"I asked dumbly, frowning.

"By becoming more than a regular vampire,"the elder Salvatore brother stated cryptically, eyes like ice beneath his dark lashes.

I opened and closed my mouth, still confused.

"What does that even mean?"I intoned emphatically,my frown deepening with added frustration.

"You're wasting your time, 'Lena-he isn't telling anyone anything more than that,"Alaric cut me off discouragingly, crossing his arms over his chest with a cursory glance in Damon's direction.

I jumped slightly, taken aback by his sudden appearance.

"Ric?What are you doing here?"I demanded, my fear actually starting to overcome my puzzlement for once.

"Helping out a friend,"my history teacher responded honestly:but there was something off about his tone, something I couldn't place.

"So he asked you to poison me-and let me guess, the mayor, Caroline, Meredith, Tyler, all those murders at the school-those were all you as well?"I surmised tensely, my voice literally trembling with the effort of not crying.

Damon's smirk turned crooked.

"Guilty as charged,"he confirmed smoothly, utterly unabashed with a cruel smile the likes of which I hadn't seen him wear since I first met him and found out what he was, "Although the hybrid only indirectly,"he added almost as an

"Why, who did you have do your dirty work this time?"I questioned shrewdly, not sure I really wanted to hear the answer.

I was definitely not prepared for his reply;

"Ask your brother,"

Luckily, Stefan chose that precise moment to regain consciousness because those three, seemingly innocuous words had rendered me speechless.

He grunted when he realized he was tied up in his own basement;I assumed there was vervain in the ropes because he couldn't break free.

"What the hell is going on here?"he snarled in a strangled tone I'd only ever heard him use once before.

"Welcome back to the town of the damned, little brother,"Damon greeted him sardonically, drawing Stefan's gaze to him.

"It _was_ you,"his brother stated hoarsely;I could see the anguish on his white face and I didn't blame him:his elder brother was back from the dead, but as an enemy once again-I couldn't even imagine what he was feeling right now.

"Did you miss me, Stef?"Damon asked mockingly, his cold tone setting my teeth on edge.

This was not the Damon who had given his life defending Mystic Falls;this was the one who wanted to destroy it and everyone in it.

I had to force myself not to burst into tears when I head the pain in my boyfriend's answer; "Of course I missed you, Damon. You're my brother and you died protecting my home,"

Damon cut him off there, clicking his tongue disapprovingly.

He grabbed a handful of Stefan's hair and yanked his head back, bending down so he and his brother were nose-to-nose.

"Don't lie to me, Stefan,"he hissed dangerously, his breath absent from the frigid words, "You know I do it much better than you do,"

"I'm not-"Stefan started to protest, but he was cut off once again, this time by Damon taking a sprig of vervain and holding it up to his right eye.

"Damon, stop it!"I exclaimed valiantly as the younger Salvatore let out an agonized yell. Damon turned back to me, shaking his dark head as if dealing with a small child.

"You made the mistake once before of thinking I would do something just because it was you who asked. That hasn't changed-except this time, I won't be saving your life, I'll be the one threatening it-and the lives of your friends,"

All I could do was stare at him in horror.

Was his death really so terrible that it had been enough to change him so much?Or had something else happened between then and now to make him this way?

"What happened to you, Damon?What happened to make you turn against us again?"I enquired helplessly, struggling in vain to free myself from the chains binding me to the chair.

"Nothing happened to me. I just realized the truth is all;that none of you ever cared about me. That my death was all for nothing and that you all still hate me even though I saved your lives from that bastard Klaus,"Damon told me flatly, as if it were a throwaway matter of no real importance.

I was severely taken aback.

"Whoever told you that was lying,"I insisted fiercely, "Damon, you know that isn't the truth,"

"Isn't it?"the blacknette quipped softly in a tone of almost frightening calm, "Isn't that the reason why, even after I gave my life for you, you still chose my brother over me?"

"Of course not!"I defended emphatically, "How can you even think that?"

"Maybe because the evidence was right in front of me the whole time,"Damon stated bluntly, steel-blue eyes utterly void of emotion, "Your inability to admit you had feelings for me was just because, even after everything I did for you, you still went for Stefan. Even after everything he put you through while he was under Klaus' thumb, you still chose him,"

Before I could protest anymore, the elder Salvatore carelessly tossed away the sprig of vervain he held and turned away from both of us.

"Enjoy your last moments together-because after today, you're never going to see one another again,"

And with that ominous threat, Damon left, sliding the bolt of the cell door into place behind him.

* * *

><p>(Damon's POV)<p>

Alaric and I stood behind the Mystic Grill;I was scoping out my next target-or rather, Ric's next target.

"You want me to kill the Donovan kid?Seriously?"the history teacher said cynically, cocking a light eyebrow archly.

My mouth twitched slightly.

"If you don't want me to kill _you_, that's exactly what you're going to do. And if I _do_ kill you, then, thanks to your magic ring, we'll be right back where we started,"I retorted bluntly.

He rolled his brown eyes.

"Fine,"he surrendered, exasperated, holding out his hand for whatever weapon I intended him to use.

I shook my head, though, "Oh no, no weapons, Ric. You're going to kill him with your bare hands. And I'm going to stand here and watch you,"

The history teacher let out an exaggerated sigh before turning on his heel and walking into the Grill without a backward glance.

From behind the dark lenses of my sunglasses, I watched him drag the unsuspecting human teen out the front door, where he then tackled him to the ground and proceeded to strangle him mercilessly.

When Matt took his final laboured breath, I grinned as Alaric grunted and got hastily to his feet, perfunctorily brushing off the front of his jeans.

"Now that wasn't so hard, was it?"I quipped smoothly, clapping a hand onto his shoulder with a slight smile.

My companion shot me a slightly disgusted look before saying dismissively, "Let's just get out of here before someone sees,"

I gave him an indulgent smile.

"Of course. But first, I have to take care of all these witnesses,"I told him cryptically, brushing past him and walking into the Grill alone.

* * *

><p>~Time Lapse~{the next day}<p>

(Normal POV)

"Come on, Damon, we've been at this for hours,"Stefan laughed weakly through a mouthful of blood, his dark eyes watery with ill-concealed pain, "What is this really about?I know there has to be more to it than just being remembered as nothing more than a casualty,"

Damon chuckled ironically.

"You know something, brother?That is _exactly _what this is about,"he stated firmly as he turned back to face the younger Salvatore, "But more than that, this town is an abomination. I never should have given up my ambition to destroy it before just because Katherine didn't love me. What is love, anyways, compared to sweet, sweet justice?"

"Justice is not slaughtering hundreds of innocent people who never did anything to yo-"Stefan's protest was cut off by a scream when Damon pressed a gloved hand against his bare stomach.

Damon lowered his curved lips next to his brother's ear before clicking his tongue disapprovingly.

"I'm afraid that that is where you are wrong, Stef,"he whispered silkily, grazing his vervain-laced fingertips almost languidly along the bare flesh of Stefan's lower stomach as his brother writhed in agony, "These people are anything _but_ innocent, blindly condemning all vampires just because of their biased, preconceived notions of the species. Moreover, this town is cursed;it's brought nothing but pain and death to everyone in it,"

"Not...everyone,"Stefan contradicted him through clenched teeth, trying in vain to force back a groan of pain.

"Oh I'm sorry, did I say everyone?"the dark-haired vampire said mockingly, "I meant _me_,"

Stefan shook his head.

"So, what?You're putting your happiness ahead of the lives of a thousand other people?"

A single corner of Damon's mouth lifted slightly.

"Well, not _quite _a thousand,"he corrected smoothly, "I'll be letting the ones who deserve to live escape,"

"And who are the ones who _deserve _to live, Damon?"Stefan growled as the scent of his own flesh burning filled his nostrils, causing him to gag.

Damon sneered.

"Shall I introduce you to one of them?"

He snapped the gloved fingers of his free hand.

The door to the cell in the Salvatore boarding house swung inward and what Stefan saw walk through it floored him completely.

"Jeremy, what the hell are you doing here?"

The male Gilbert gave him an artificial smile.

"Oh you didn't hear, Stefan?I'm no longer a member of the vampire fan club-I have some supernatural powers of my own now,"Jeremy told him coldly, brown eyes bleeding into pure black.

"Why don't you give him a demonstration?"Damon suggested innocently, steel-blue orbs glittering like shards of ice.

Jeremy's smile turned vindictive.

"Sure, why not,"he acceded carelessly as black symbols began to crawl up the skin of his throat, flashing maliciously.

He pressed down on one of them with his index finger and black smoke began to pour out of his open mouth, coalescing into a tall, blonde form in front of him.

A form that Stefan, unfortunately, recognized.

"Lexi?"the younger Salvatore gaped at his dead best friend as she materialized fully before him, the same way she had about three months ago.

She smiled.

"Hey, Stef,,"she greeted him jovially;but there was something off in her tone, "Sorry, but I didn't come here to chat,"

Her eyes turned black and Stefan's went wide.

"What are you-?"he started to say, but before he could finish, the screams started again as his very bones suddenly caught on fire.

It was that starvation trick she had used on him the last time he had been off the rails-times about five hundred.

"I think I've made my point,"Damon commented with satisfaction, somehow perfectly audible over Stefan's yells.

He turned on his heel swiftly and walked out the door, leaving Jeremy to it. He had something else to attend to, after all.

* * *

><p>(Still Normal POV)<p>

"So you've had me torture your brother now. What's next?"Jeremy asked offhandedly as if it were a throwaway matter of no real importance, crossing his arms over his chest expectantly.

Damon grinned wryly.

"Now we're going to test how good you've gotten at using your new powers,"he stated smoothly, his grin turning crooked.

Ice-blue met ebony without blinking.

"I want you to kill the witch,"

The male Gilbert scoffed."Oh is that all?"he all but sneered, rolling his now almost-black eyes in apparent scepticism.

The vampire continued to smile and slipped a deft hand into the brunette's back pocket, withdrawing his cell phone and holding it out to him.

"You're going to call her and ask her to meet you. Somewhere quiet, with no witnesses. And then, you're going to use the powers of the dead to kill her,"he instructed lowly, speaking directly into his ear.

Jeremy took the phone from him silently, and turned it on, dialling Bonnie's number and holding it up to his ear.

"_Jeremy?_"Bonnie's voice sounded worried when she picked up, "_What's up?_"

"Nothing,"the younger responded soothingly, "I was just wondering if we could meet. I have something I want to talk to you about,"

"_Yeah, sure. Where_?"the witch acquiesced tensely.

Jeremy looked over at Damon, who shrugged his leather-clad shoulders but mouthed the words,''No witnesses''.

He rolled his dark eyes expressively before answering, his gaze focused outside the window, "Well, it's not a bad day. Do you think we could go to the cemetery?I want to pay a visit to my parents' graves,"

"_Okay. Meet you in an hour?_"

"Yes. See you in an hour,"Jeremy said, ending the call.

He turned to Damon, "Happy?"

"Not until you bring her back here-and kill her in front of your sister,"the elder Salvatore declared silkily, frigid breath rushing past the side of Jeremy's face.

The boy could practically feel his mocking smirk; "Unless you don't have the guts,"

The brunette snorted.

"We're about to find out, now aren't we?"he commented slyly, sliding his cell back into his pocket.

"We are,"Damon agreed, gloved fingers ghosting slowly down the side of Jeremy's bare neck.

~Time Lapse~

Bonnie couldn't believe her eyes when she saw her ex coming out of the woods and heading towards her.

He had changed. A lot.

His eyes and hair had gotten way darker and instead of his usual casual attire, he was wearing a pair of tight black jeans with studded chains hanging from two of the belt loops and a heavy black biker jacket with a faded v-neck underneath.

But what struck her most about his new appearance were the obsidian symbols crawling up the front of his throat and disappearing below the waistband of his jeans.

"Hey, Bonnie,"he greeted her amiably;his voice had changed as well since the last time they had spoken. She had noticed it when they were on the phone, but it was much more evident now;his voice was lower and huskier and the lack of emotion in it set the witch's teeth on edge.

She made an effort to smile at him.

"Hey, Jeremy. I haven't seen you in a while,"she replied in the same light, friendly tone that belied the look in her brown eyes.

The smile the younger gave her in return was almost predatory and she had to suppress a shudder.

"No, you haven't,"he concurred smoothly, "And after this, you won't be seeing anyone else ever again,"

A length of black material was suddenly pressed over her mouth and a hand pressed down on her throat until she lost consciousness from the lack of air.

He slung her prone body carelessly over his shoulder like a rag doll and made his way back through the woods, heading for the boarding house.

Damon met him at the front door, leaning against the wall next to it with his long legs crossed at the ankles in front of him.

"Ready for the moment of truth, Ghost Boy?"he asked coolly, ice slivers glinting darkly.

"You gonna move out of the way or do you want to carry her?"Jeremy said impatiently, deliberately ignoring the elder's question.

The vampire gave him the barest trace of a smile before stepping languidly aside, holding the door open for him.

The male Gilbert inclined his head in thanks as he walked past him,carrying the comatose witch into the sitting room and setting her down on the couch.

"Wake her up. I don't really have the patience for this today,"Damon told him sharply from the doorway.

Jeremy tossed him an irritated look before closing his eyes briefly and touching one of the symbols on his slightly exposed midriff.

Bonnie's eyes suddenly snapped open and she jerked up from the couch, gasping convulsively.

"W-where a-am I-I?"she shuddered, her words tumbling out in a breathless rush.

Her wild eyes landed on Damon, his shoulder against the door frame leading into the room and gloved hands stuffed in the pockets of his leather jacket.

It was only then that she recognized her surroundings and realized she was in the Salvatore boarding house.

"D-damon?"she stuttered feebly, "B-but y-you were dead. Elena said she watched you die,"

Damon smirked, baring his fangs.

"Hn, that doesn't really matter,"he waved away her statement lazily, nodding at Jeremy, "Your boyfriend has a job to do and _you _have a purpose to serve,"

"Which is wha-?"Bonnie barely had time to get the entire sentence out before her ex was hauling her to her feet and half-dragging her up the stairs with Damon close at their heels.

He pulled her by her elbow into Damon's bedroom, where Elena was chained by her wrist to the post of the blacknette's bed.

The doppelganger's eyes went big as saucers when she caught sight of her best friend and her brother.

"Jer?Bonnie?Wh-what's going on?"she questioned uneasily, looking from one to the other with a feeling of steadily intensifying anxiety.

Jeremy looked over at Damon as if asking permission, and the vampire gave him a slight nod by way of a response.

He turned back to the trembling witch and raised his free hand, which was, unless Bonnie's eyes were deceiving her, beginning to glow a livid, fiery red, like a smouldering ember.

"Jeremy, what are you doing?"she asked him shakily, staring at his hand in what was obviously fear.

His lips twisted into a cruel mockery of a smile.

"Giving up my old life,"he stated vindictively and, before Bonnie could say another word, he clamped his burning hand down on her chest.

The second he did so, the witch let out a positively bloodcurdling scream as her skin began to sizzle.

She was being burned alive.

The flesh was being burned from her very bones and her powers were useless to put a stop to it.

When Elena realized what her brother was doing, she let out a cry of mixed shock and horror.

"Jeremy, stop it!What's wrong with you?"she exclaimed loudly, looking absolutely appalled.

"Not a thing, dear sister,"Jeremy told her in a voice of almost frightening calm, given what he was doing.

Elena tried to look away from the grisly tableau that was her best friend's charred flesh, but Damon was behind her now, forcing her to watch by compelling her not to close her eyes.

As Bonnie's screams slowly petered out, Elena began to thrash against her chains desperately, tears streaming down her pale cheeks.

"Bonnie, Bonnie, no!No, Jeremy, please, stop!"she pleaded valiantly, sobbing as she tried to get to her friend.

But Jeremy didn't stop and the chains binding her to the bedpost refused to yield so she was forced to watch while her brother brutally burned her best friend to death.

After the witch took her last laboured, choking breath, Elena collapsed, letting out a wail of distress.

Ignoring her coolly, Jeremy got to his feet, wiping his hand off as the glow receded from it and turning toward Damon.

"Satisfied?"he quipped archly, putting a hand on his hip as his dark eyes flashed menacingly as if daring Damon to criticize.

The vampire gave him an almost bestial grin, "For the time being,"

Jeremy rolled his eyes for the third time in the last two hours and followed Damon out of his bedroom, leaving behind his weeping sister.

* * *

><p>~FLASHBACK~<p>

_He heard familiar voices emitting from his sister's room;one was Elena's, obviously,but he frowned when he recognized the other. What was Damon doing in Elena's room at this time of night?_

_"Damon, I care about you, but I love Stefan. It's always going to be Stefan,"Elena was saying as Jeremy walked into her room._

_"Elena?What's going on in here?"he asked from her doorway, frowning at how the elder Salvatore-the one she wasn't dating-had his hands all over her._

_She broke free from Damon's grasp as Jeremy crossed his arms over his chest; "Nothing, Jeremy. It's fine, just go back to bed,"_

_Damon's pale face suddenly lit up as his gaze fell on the male Gilbert._

_"No, it's not okay, Elena,"he contradicted her in an almost maniacal tone, "He wants to be a vampire,"_

_He blurred and grabbed Jeremy around the throat, slamming him back into the wall next to the door, ignoring Elena's cry of "No!Damon, no, stop it!"_

_Jeremy shook as the blacknette got right up in his face and held him back forcefully._

_"When you shut off the pain,"he started in a low growl, "It's the easiest thing in the world. The part of you that cares, it just goes away. All you have to do is flip the switch and snap!"_

_He wrenched the boy's head to the side in a single, fluid motion and the last thing Jeremy heard before everything went black was his sister's voice shouting, "No!"_

~END FLASHBACK~

(Jeremy's POV)

I was in Stefan's room since Damon's was currently being occupied by my older sister, sitting on the edge of the younger Salvatore's bed and contemplating a couple of things.

Mentally, I was asking myself what I was doing helping Damon destroy Mystic Falls. What was I doing with him at all?

This was a vampire who had killed me once-someone I shouldn't trust, shouldn't even like at all. Damon had compelled me to kill Tyler and taught me to become a murderer. And yet, even now, without compulsion, I was still doing everything this vampire said, no matter how awful it was.

Kill my ex-girlfriend?Check.

Help torture my sister's boyfriend?Check.

Desecrate a grave to get Damon some mystery box? Double check.

I had no idea why I felt so compelled to follow the elder Salvatore's every order-even without _being _compelled-I just couldn't help it for some reason.

Even when Damon had told me to kill Bonnie by using my newfound powers, I hadn't argued-I hadn't _wanted _to argue.

And now, when Damon was returning from his nighttime killing spree with his grey shirt littered with dark red stains and fangs still unsheathed, tinted pink with blood, I couldn't seem to take my eyes off of him-though it wasn't for lack of trying. Not by a long shot.

When Damon removed his black Ray-Bans and set them down on Stefan's desk in time for me to catch sight of the crimson veins underneath his eyes vanish and his eyes to return to their normal shade of pale blue, all I could do was stare.

Not because I was disgusted or shocked, but actually because I was entranced.

Damon must have sensed my eyes on him because we were all of a sudden standing practically nose-to-nose and the vampire's gloved hand was grasping my chin so I was meeting his soulless ice slivers.

"Like what you see, little Gilbert?"

Those words, spoken in Damon's silky, arrogant drawl, were all but purred into my ear and I couldn't repress the shudder that had nothing to do with the vampire's icy breath against my skin.

My mouth went dry and upon opening it, I found I couldn't speak. I was preoccupied with watching my vampiric companion as those flawless, velvet-smooth lips twisted into a slightly mocking smirk and his eyebrows waggled in an almost suggestive way.

When all he got in response was me opening and closing my mouth silently, he let out an indulgent chuckle.

"Don't be shy, Jeremy,"the vampire prompted softly, thumb brushing the underside of my bottom lip. Oddly, I didn't recoil from the touch-on the contrary, I actually leaned into it.

Seeing my reaction, Damon's smirk turned crooked.

"Do you like this?"he questioned me lowly in a tone darker than any I had ever heard him use before, releasing my chin to let his fingers trail lightly down the side of my neck.

I couldn't answer and I tensed when I felt those gloved fingers descending below my jawline, tracing my clavicle. I forced myself to speak, then, saying the vampire's name hoarsely, "Damon-"

But whatever else I had intended to say was lost when Damon's free hand seized a handful of my hair and forced our mouths together in a rough kiss.

And then Damon was tugging at the dark strands, angling my head back so he could get even deeper. My mind went utterly blank and my lips parted of their own accord, allowing the vampire's tongue to enter my mouth and explore the new territory thoroughly.

I was shoved against the wall and my wrists were pinned above my head as Damon pressed his body hard against mine, sucking almost too hard on my tongue as his own delved into the back of my throat.

I let out an unwilling moan, fingers clenching and arms going slack against the wall, knowing that it would be useless to try and break Damon's grip on them.

"So pretty,"Damon crooned against my lips and his voice was so low that I wasn't even sure he was really speaking;for once, his voice wasn't perfectly composed. It was rough, husky and held a slight panting quality to it, which made those words all the more predatory.

My breath hitched when Damon's fangs scraped purposefully over the nape of my neck and I realized he was _tasting_ me as his tongue flicked out to follow them.

"Do it,"I breathed in barely above a whisper, tilting my head back to offer him my throat, "Damon, bite me, please,"

The words were hardly out of my mouth when I felt the vampire's incisors sink into my neck.

My back involuntarily arched when I felt the white-hot pain tear through me, but there was an almost even more intense undercurrent of pleasure that drew a second moan from my bruised lips.

He released my wrists, then, fangs being replaced by his tongue yet again, licking the bite wound almost possessively.

"You tasted even better than I expected,"the blacknette commented smoothly, lips brushing over mine one last time before he turned and walked out the door, leaving me slightly bewildered.

* * *

><p>(Damon's POV)<p>

A knock on my door roused me from sleep.

"Damon,"Alaric's voice spoke from outside my bedroom, sounding uncharacteristically tentative, "You have a visitor,"

I blinked, slightly puzzled.

"Tell them to wait downstairs,"I instructed carelessly as I swung my long legs over the side of my bed and stood to get dressed.

"What am I, your wife?She's already waiting downstairs,"the history teacher retorted in an acerbic tone, followed by his departing footsteps.

Once clothed, I left my bedroom and headed down the stairs, pausing to knock on Jeremy's door so he knew to come down.

"She?"I quoted once I caught sight of the former vampire hunter waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs.

Alaric turned on his heel.

"See for yourself,"he said offhandedly, turning his back on me to lead me in the direction of the parlour.

I stopped on the threshold when I saw the face of my ''visitor'';it was a face I recognized all too well.

"Katherine,"

* * *

><p>HAHA the end! Damn that took forever again. Oh well. R&amp;R?<p> 


	5. We Only Come Out At Night

Title:Broken Strings

Author:superhackaninja5

Rating:M

Summary:see chapter one

Warnings for this particular chapter:graphic slash, alcohol abuse, lots of death, a bit of language and a sort of cliffhanger

Well now this chapter didn't take that long. I just got stuck after the first scene for like half a month and then some other shit happened and I started writing another fic.. Someone should check it out. It's called Castle of Nightmares-it says Supernatural & Dark-hunters crossover but it will eventually include Vampire Diaries and some other stuff too.

Disclaimer:Standard disclaimer applies. Nor do I own the chapter title which is the name of a song by Motionless In White. And I have this part in Vampire Diaries season one stuck in my head;

Tyler:"What's wrong with her Stefan?"

Damon:"You don't talk,"

Tyler:"Screw you dude."

Damon:"Dude?Really?Dude?"

Stefan:"Damon don't!"

Damon:"Oh come on, who's gonna miss this idiot?"

* * *

><p>Chapter 5:We Only Come Out At Night<p>

(Normal POV)

She was definitely different from the last time he had seen her;the fact that she no longer bore very much resemblance to Elena being the most significant change. Her brown eyes had been covered with jade green contacts and her hair was now a darker, almost black shade, though it was still curly.

In a sharp contrast to Elena's usual standard of dress, she was clad in a pair of dark slacks, a sheer, silver long-sleeved shirt, a black jacket with sleeves that extended all the way to her fingertips and, completing the outfit, a pair of leather stiletto boots that had white blades sticking out of the toes.

Damon's pale mouth quirked into a slight smile after looking the female vampire who had turned him over critically for a moment.

"Let me guess;you're another child of the dark,"

"His companion grinned, "You always were the smarter one, Damon. Did you miss me?"

"Actually, yes. I've been waiting for someone to actually thank me for finally taking care of Klaus and losing my life in the process,"the younger commented, his eyes glinting.

"Well, I would have given you a call, but you were, you know, _dead_, so it was a little difficult to connect,"Katherine said flippantly with a toss of her hair.

"And yet, here we are, both alive and well-in a manner of speaking, anyways,"Damon quipped with a wry smile. He put a hand behind his ear expectantly, "Come on. Let's hear it,"

Katherine rolled her light green orbs.

"Thank you, Damon, for taking care of Klaus and the other Originals,"she conceded in a flat, emotionless tone, "There. You happy?"

"Ecstatic,"the blacknette responded dryly, "So what are you doing here?"

The female's smile turned crooked.

"Word on the street is you're starting Mystic Falls D-day part two-and I want in,"

Damon shrugged.

"Join the club,"he accepted carelessly, "We're becoming quite the full house now, what with my brother and Elena hanging around all the time,"

Katherine arched one of her perfectly tweezed dark eyebrows, "Oh they have? I think I should pay my doppelganger a visit, then,"

The blacknette stood aside and pointed downward, "She's in the basement. Be gentle, though;she's been through quite the ordeal lately,"

"Oh don't worry. I won't even lay a finger on her,"the elder vampire said slyly as she passed him, heading down the stairs towards the cell where she knew her human counterpart was being kept.

When she opened the large steel door, even she was shocked by the state her doppelganger was in.

Chained to a chair with her wrists tightly bound behind her, Elena's face was covered in bruises and tear tracks. Her eyes were puffy and red and there was a spiked, sharp, leather belt shoved in her mouth, the corners of which were crusted with dried blood.

Katherine whistled appreciatively at the spectacle before her.

"I never thought I'd say this, but damn, Damon's even more sadistic than I am,"she observed honestly, eyes lingering on the makeshift gag stuffed inside Elena's mouth.

"Aww, Kat, it's been so long since I've gotten a compliment from you. I'm flattered you think so,"Damon said mockingly from behind her, causing her to turn around. She hadn't even noticed him following her.

"What did you do to her?"Katherine asked curiously, both of her eyebrows cocking up this time.

"Hm, well,"Damon crinkled his forehead in a falsely thoughtful expression. "I had her cut herself. Fed from her. Had her brother torture her and kill her best friend right in front of her. That about sums it up,"he answered casually, like he was merely talking about the weather or something equally as mundane.

Katherine laughed;she couldn't help herself. The elder Salvatore's lackadaisical tone, coupled with the words themselves was just priceless.

"You really have changed since coming back from the dead, haven't you?"she observed in a faintly bemused tone.

The blacknette smirked icily.

"Did you expect any different?I died for you and that changed me. Why break with tradition?"he retorted smoothly, ivory face utterly inscrutable-something that was belayed by the darkness in his flashing blue eyes.

The female shifted her feet uncomfortably like a guilty child; "Yeah, about that. I've never really apologized for leading you on like that, so I'm-"

Damon held up a hand to silence her.

"You really think that after all the shit you've put me through that I want your apology?I don't want to hear it, so you can shove your sorry's up your ass. The only reason I didn't kill you the second you walked in the door was because you helped save my life once. And the rules have changed, so I couldn't kill you, anyways. So don't ever bring it up again"he said in a tone so cold it actually made Katherine have to suppress a shiver.

Tossing her a look that could freeze the Sahara, he turned on his heel and left her alone with Elena.

* * *

><p><em>The first strike was the death of the vampire known as Damon Salvatore;that single thing set off a chain of events that ended up here.<em>

_This is the turning point._

_The keys to destroying Mystic Falls are the blood of the doppelganger, the powers of a phantasmist, the cursed object known as the Aderex and the day of a Thousand Shadows._

_Damon Salvatore's revenge will be a catalyst and the result will be thus;_

_When Mystic Falls is destroyed, the truce will be nullified along with it._

_And Death will be unleashed once again._

* * *

><p>(Damon's POV)<p>

The woman collapsed to the floor,her short, willowy form completely ravaged as if she had been torn apart by a rabid dog-or a pack of them.

"How many is that now?"I asked from the room's dimly lit corner in a casual tone like I was merely asking about the weather or something.

"Eight,"my companion replied readily, cracking his neck as he took a deep breath, inhaling the opaque black vapour swirling in the air directly over the female's unmoving corpse.

His dark eyes flashed in the lack of light as he turned to where I was sitting with my back against the wall and elbow resting on my upraised knee.

"Two more,"he suggested offhandedly, running a hand through his short chestnut locks and absently flicking a few errant strands out of his eyes.

I inclined my head, rising fluidly to my feet.

"You know the next target,"I stated simply with a corner of my mouth slightly upturned.

The two of us vanished from the deceased woman's house and reappeared at the edge of the woods, our all black attire allowing us to blend in with the shadows cast by the trees.

Voices rang out in my enhanced ears and my pale lips quirked into a crooked smile.

"Two for one,"I whispered slyly, stepping aside for Jeremy.

The male Gilbert set off in the direction of the voices, pressing a finger to one of the ebony sigils etched into his midriff at the same time.

A familiar female form appeared beside him as he entered the clearing, instantly focused on the two male humans he intended to kill. "Take care of the right,"he instructed his late ex-girlfriend before tugging off one of his gloves and tapping another sigil on his palm.

He launched forward as his bare hand began to glow an almost violent red-orange;he closed it around the man's throat and tackled him to the ground, knee digging into the other's gut.

Screams reverberated throughout the forest and jolted birds out of their trees as the human male struggled to fight Jeremy off of him while his companion was ripped apart by Anna's ghost.

Jeremy didn't even bat an eyelid when the vile scent of death and burning flesh began to fill his nostrils;he merely narrowed his eyes and squeezed his hand tighter around the man's windpipe that he held captive.

I sidled up into the clearing to watch the dual murder play out so that at the exact moment when the two men's screams finally petered out, I was there, leaning casually against a tree with a vaguely amused expression gracing my flawless features.

"You're getting better at that,"I complimented softly, hands deep in the pockets of my leather jacket and grinning slightly, "Perhaps we should celebrate,"

Jeremy blinked owlishly.

"I don't think I really want to know how _you_ celebrate things,"the phantasmist commented slowly as he got back to his feet, brushing dirt off the front of his jeans as he did so.

My grin widened.

"And I think you're lying,"I whispered against Jeremy's ear, suddenly right behind the brunette with my chest pressed to the boy's back, "I think you're _dying _to know,"

Before Jeremy could say otherwise, I grabbed him around the waist and the two of us re-materialized back at my house, where a row of bottles filled with what was evidently alcohol had been laid out on top Stefan's desk.

"I think tonight will make your stoner phase look tame,"I quipped smoothly, releasing him to pick up a bottle of Scotch.

After an apparent moment of indecision, Jeremy followed suit, popping off the top and taking a tentative drink. I didn't think he had ever tried Scotch before, but I could see he was pleasantly surprised when the liquid burned a path down his throat.

Things blurred for us both from the point where I caught the boy finishing a second bottle of Scotch, among other things.

(Jeremy's POV)

I had been drunk and stoned before, but this was different. This felt a lot like the other night when I had let Damon bite me, even though I had been perfectly sober then.

For some inexplicable reason, I couldn't take my eyes off of the vampire again. If it hadn't happened when I had been sober, I could have just written it off as the effects of the alcohol;but it had, so it was obviously something else.

But it _was _the Scotch that prompted me to act on my sudden attraction to the blacknette.

"Damon,"I said, drawing his attention away from the drink he was currently nursing;when he arched an eyebrow, I finished firmly, "Kiss me,"

There was silence for several moments before he acted.

Putting his glass of bourbon down, he grabbed the collar of my shirt and yanked me toward him, slamming our mouths together roughly. I don't know whether it was the alcohol or not, but something made me clutch him closer, opening my mouth under his so he could plunge his tongue into my throat.

My fingers tangled in his silky black locks as he shoved me against the wall, sucking on my bottom lip as his hands slipped beneath the hem of my t-shirt.

"_Damon_,"I moaned as his mouth trailed down my chin, stopping at the base of my throat to practically devour the skin there.

His cruel chuckle vibrated against my skin as he grazed his fangs over my pulsepoint, causing me to arch into him involuntarily.

"Tell me what you want, Jeremy,"he growled into my neck, tongue following his fangs and dragging wetly up my jawline. His hands closed over my wrists and he tugged my hands out of his hair, slamming them back against the wall before he breathed into my ear, "Or else I'll stop,"

"N-no,"the word came tumbling out of my mouth before I could stop it as I thrashed my head back, the blood pounding in my ears. I had no idea what was going on with me these days;I mean, last night I let Damon bite me and now I was getting drunk and making out with him.

I could practically hear his smirk. "No?"he teased lowly, deliberately taking it the wrong way while licking the outer shell of my ear and nipping at the tip, "Shall I stop, then?"

He made to pull away, releasing my wrists, but I grabbed the lapels of his leather jacket and pressed myself hard against him, preventing him from leaving. "That's not what I meant and you know it,"I stated huskily, running my tongue purposefully over his fangs before pulling him into a bloody kiss.

When Damon caught my wrists again and held them above my head with one hand while the other carelessly tore my shirt off, I didn't resist or protest;I just threw my head back and moaned when his fangs broke the skin of my shoulder.

"Damon, I w-want you to f-fuck me,"I groaned raggedly, stumbling over the words;it was taking all of my concentration just to voice something other than a moan while his mouth was on me.

The vampire lifted his head, my blood dripping from his lips and pressed a hand against my neck, not choking me, just reminding me that he could. "Well, I wasn't expecting you to say _that_,"he said smoothly, eyes as dark with blood as his fangs were drenched with it; "Is that _really_ what you want?"

I swallowed, looking into those pupilless, bloody orbs.

"It is. Damon, fuck me, please,"I all but begged shamelessly,giving him my best pleading look

Even with that, I was totally unprepared for him to lunge forward and attack my mouth with such force I was sure my lips were going to be bruised tomorrow-or, at the very least, too swollen for me to hide

He let go of my wrists to shed his leather jacket before steering me toward Stefan's bed, walking us both backward until I fell onto it.

He crawled on top of me, his slender fingers undoing the fastenings of my bottoms and pulling them off, leaving m in nothing but my boxers. Then he lifted himself up to unbutton his own jeans, fingers hooking underneath the waistband and sliding them off his hips.

I tugged him back down, unbuttoning his black shirt while he ripped off my boxers. It was only when I had his shirt off that I noticed that he hadn't been wearing any underwear.

His cold eyes raked over my naked body, growing hooded with unbridled hunger and lust.

"You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into, little Gilbert,"Damon hissed darkly before biting into my neck, hard enough to make blood well up. He wiped his hand over the wound;I didn't understand why until he wrapped it around his cock, spreading the thick, red liquid over it.

I was too far gone by now to care that that was all he planned to use for lube and instead of backing out like I probably should have, I hooked my legs over his hips and moaned, "Damon, take me now, please,"

He didn't waste time with a response and just curled his hands around my thighs, driving himself into me all the way to the hilt.

And then, he was moving, pounding me into the mattress so hard that I was screaming from the blinding combination of pleasure and pain.

"Fuck, you're tight,"I heard him grind out through his teeth as he sped up even more, if that was even possible.

When he nudged against my prostate, my eyes squeezed shut so tight that I saw white;this was ecstasy-anything I had had with Vicki and Anna before this didn't even deserve to be called sex.

At that point, Damon only had thrust his hips one, twice more and then I was coming, screaming out his name violently; "Damon!"

The next thing I felt was Damon's fangs buried in my hip as he released himself inside me;but he kept moving, riding out every last drop.

Then there was blackness;I passed out.

* * *

><p>(Normal POV)<p>

He woke up with one raging mother of a headache and what seemed to be a block of ice underneath his head.

Blinking his eyes blearily, Jeremy looked around the around, rubbing away the sleep as he tried to remember what the hell he had done the previous night. Drinking his way through two bottles of Scotch and more shots of tequila than he could count was definitely not one of his better ideas.

The light bulbs in the room were busted and the black curtains were shut tight, which explained why the room was pitch dark;there were clothes haphazardly all over the floor, some of them Jeremy's and the others...

Oh. Shit. He swore mentally as realization hit him like a speeding bus.

Well, that definitely explained why the entire lower half of his body hurt every time he shifted even a little.

He looked down at himself and he was, just as he'd suspected, completely naked except for the thin sheet covering the bed. And lying next to him, equally so, was Damon, still sound asleep and with what Jeremy assumed was his blood staining his lips dark red.

Strangely, knowing that he had had sex with Damon didn't give him any negative feelings at all;on the contrary, he actually felt kind of...elated. I mean, yeah his ass was fucking sore and he probably had a bunch of bruises on his body, but really, after that make out session the other night, it wasn't like this was totally unexpected.

The prick of fangs broke into his musings and alerted him that Damon was awake;the vampire didn't bite him again, he was merely teasing.

"Morning,"his low, smooth tone purred into the phantasmist's ear, slender fingers stroking his bare side and teeth tugging lightly on his ear lobe.

"_Damon,_"he moaned softly by way of a response, fisting his hands in the sheets as the dark-haired vampire continued to play with the piece of flesh between his fangs.

Damon gave him a lascivious chuckle and the fingers at his side gradually began to travel further south, disappearing beneath the translucent white fabric covering him from the waist down.

"No second thoughts, I see,"he commented pointedly, cold breath rushing past the side of Jeremy's face as his hand almost languidly nudged the boy's unresisting legs apart, brushing the underside of his thigh teasingly.

Jeremy let himself come undone at that, succumbing utterly to Damon's skillful touches and the power of that seductive, silky baritone.

"If I had second thoughts, would I still be in this bed?"he countered smoothly, arching his back as Damon continued to work him closer to the edge, forcing him to have to hold back another groan.

"Touche`,"Damon murmured, fangs tracing my jawline, closely followed by his tongue.

At the same time, he gave Jeremy a pointed squeeze and that was it-the younger came in his hand, repressing a scream by biting his lip so hard he drew blood.

Withdrawing his hand, Damon raised it to catch the drop of crimson liquid as it ran down the corner of Jeremy's mouth and his tongue flicked out to lick his fingers clean.

"Crimson really is such a good colour on you, Jeremy,"he said silkily, ice blue eyes glittering with unrestrained lust as he wiped his hand off on the bed without looking.

Jeremy didn't know what to say to that, so he stayed silent, shaking himself slightly to come down from his post-orgasmic fog.

Damon smirked and rose from the bed, stretching his arms above his head and offering his companion a full view of his toned, naked body.

It truly baffled Jeremy how his sister could have ever gone for Stefan;Damon was gorgeous. Hell, he hadn't even thought he was gay until he started hanging out with Damon on a regular basis.

After pulling his own clothes on, the vampire deftly tossed Jeremy his.

"I'll meet you downstairs;we have another long day ahead of us. I hope you're not tired of hearing my brother scream,"the elder Salvatore told him, his pale lips twisted into a sardonic smirk as he walked out the door.

* * *

><p>(Stefan's POV)<p>

"Did you have a good nap, Stef?"Damon's mocking drawl greeted me as I was jolted back to consciousness with a vat of vervain-laced water that he tossed into my face.

Coughing and sputtering, I clenched my teeth against the burning agony of salt in my raw wounds;the vervain entering my burnt flesh and making the pain about a hundred times worse.

"What is this accomplishing, Damon?"I groaned piteously, doing my best not to scream at the continuous sensation of having the skin flayed from my bones,"I haven't done anything to you recently, so why are you doing this?"

Damon smiled crookedly.

"Besides the fact that it amuses me? No reason, really,"my brother shrugged in a characteristically nonchalant manner. His light blue eyes flashed menacingly, "Then again, with these new tricks of mine, I don't really _need_ any other reason,"

He beckoned to someone behind him and Alaric entered the room, coming to stand at his side and causing me to frown.

"We're going to try something different today, little bro,"Damon answered my unasked question casually, "Since Ric here hasn't had a crack at the Wheel of Stefan-torture, I thought I'd let him have a turn. Ric?"

My former friend shot me an unfamiliar twisted grin before nodding, "I think I might like that,"

Damon let out a light chuckle."Well, as much as I'd love to stick around and watch the fun, I have other matters to attend to today;namely, further corrupting Elena's little brother, so I'm going to have to leave you two alone. Until later, gentlemen,"he said silkily, giving Alaric a pointed look before leaving.

"Damon, if you do anything more to Jeremy, I swear-shit!"I called after him, but my words were cut off by a sudden blinding flash of pain when Alaric plunged a pencil into my thigh. A freaking pencil!

"I don't think you're in much of a position to be making threats, Stefan,"he stated smoothly, a second pencil poised threateningly between his two fingers.

I grimaced as he pulled the first one out of my leg, coughing slightly. "Why are you helping him, Ric?"I asked wearily, tired of asking these questions and getting no real answers.

"Why wouldn't I?"Alaric countered swiftly, twirling one of the pencils with his thumb and forefinger, "After all, Damon is my best friend-and I never really liked you,"

"Well, then, what about Elena?You brought her here, too,"

"Elena was the real target;you were just for fun,"the former vampire hunter replied cryptically before stabbing me a second time-this time in the arm-and effectively stemming all further questions of mine.

_Where the hell is he getting all of these pencils from?_I distractedly found myself wondering while trying to blot out the pain of being stabbed a third time-in the gut-and _this_ pencil had been dipped in the vervain. Double the agony.

What seemed like hours later, though it was probably only minutes, Jeremy walked in, a morbidly curious-and not at all disturbed-expression on his olive-skinned face.

He spoke to Alaric briefly, but I couldn't hear what he said over the sound of my own screams;and then he just stood and watched.

I didn't think there was a single place on my body that had not been abused in some way;Alaric had hit his every vital point with one of those damned wooden writing utensils and everywhere else had been ravaged by the vervain.

I'm pretty sure that this was what Hell felt like.

And screaming myself hoarse did absolutely nothing to alleviate the pain, of course;I couldn't stop it, though. It was completely automatic.

If Damon wanted to break me, well, then, he'd succeeded. Nothing Klaus or any of the other Originals or tomb vampires had ever done could even begin to compare to this.

This was absolute agony.

At least, though, I was granted a brief, unexpected respite when, hours later, Alaric pressed a hand to my throat-and everything suddenly went black.

I was knocked out, sputtering and gasping for air.

(Normal POV)

When Stefan suddenly collapsed at Alaric's touch, convulsing horribly, all eyes were on him and wide with disbelief.

"What did you just do, Ric?"Damon broke the stunned silence filling the room in a mildly impressed tone, suddenly reappearing at his human friend's back with one of his midnight eyebrows cocked curiously.

The history teacher shrugged cluelessly.

"I have no idea,"he responded honestly, staring at his hands with a mix of awe and obvious confusion.

There were some sort of dark glands embedded in his fingertips now and, unless he was mistaken, they were seeping out poison.

"Well, isn't this interesting,"the conscious Salvatore commented from behind him with what sounded vaguely like amusement, prompting Alaric to turn around to face him.

"What?Do you know what's going on here?"the former vampire hunter demanded sharply, posture forcefully rigid.

Damon inclined his dark head in an affirmative.

"As a matter of fact, I do,"

Alaric gestured wildly for Damon to continue; "So?What the hell is going on with me?"

Steel-blue met brown without blinking.

"You're another one of us, Ric-another child of the dark,"he paused briefly before adding, "To be precise, you are what's known as a shykari. They have the power to secrete a poison that is deadly to all non-chlidren of the dark inside their bodies and then disseminate through their fingertips,"

"Huh,"Alaric said thoughtfully after pondering Damon's explanation for a moment, "There's something you don't hear every day,"He looked over at the blacknette, "So what exactly does this mean, then?"

The vampire flashed him an icy smile.

"It means that Mystic Falls had better really watch its back from now on,"

* * *

><p>Wow,typing that actually took forever.<p>

5 chapters down, 4 to go!


	6. Phantasmist

Title:Broken Strings

Author:superhackaninja5

Rating:M

Summary:see chapter one

Warnings for this particular chapter:some, I think, torture;language and Stefan/Elena bashing. Though in my opinion that's a good thing.

This chapter took soooo long. Although mostly it was cuz I was super busy. As a result, it's actually kinda short;possibly shorter than the previous one, but oh well.

Disclaimer:(VAMPIRE DIARIES SEASON 4 STARTS TONIGHT[OCT.11])Standard disclaimer applies. I own nothing but the plot and the idea of children of the dark.

Here we go.

* * *

><p>Chapter 6:Phantasmist<p>

(Katherine's POV)

When I paid a visit to Stefan, I wasn't expecting his ravaged, drawn and almost ill-looking appearance anymore than I had been expecting Elena's.

My ex, needless to say, looked terrible;his skin was tinged with grey and horribly pockmarked-no doubt from multiple encounters with vervain;his face was cut and his torso was bare, bruised bleeding.

His head jolted up suddenly upon my entering his ''cell''-for lack of a better word and his hollow eyes looked at me ruefully.

"What? You've never seen a vampire tortured within an inch of his life before?"the younger Salvatore shot at me, but his tone was flat and strained like he was struggling to contain his emotions.

I ran an uncomfortable hand through my long, dark hair, observing Stefan's abused form dispassionately.

Apparently irritated by my continued silence, Stefan inhaled deeply and demanded in a weary voice, "What do you want, Katherine?If you've come to torture me some more, be my guest;but I don't have very many screams left in me, just so you know,"

I clicked my tongue disapprovingly at the resignation in his tone.

"Wow, Stef, I don't think I've ever heard you sound so hopeless. What _has _Damon done to you?"I commented archly, shaking my head with ill-concealed amusement.

Stefan's naked, scarred shoulders slumped, dejected and he looked at the floor, which was drenched in what I assumed was his blood.

"Can you blame me?After 150 years, the brother I loved and hated died protecting me. And then he came back, more evil and soulless than he'd ever been before. He's taken everything from me and is only keeping me alive now so he can torture me until I beg him for death,"the light-haired vampire muttered bitterly, clearly fighting back tears, "I have nothing left, least of all hope,"

He paused for a moment, looking up again and meeting my eyes before adding in a slightly resentful tone, "So, not that it really matters anymore, but why are _you _helping Damon? I know you and he didn't make any deals recently."

"Because he's right,"I stated bluntly, "About this town and its people. Mystic Falls is a pox on the world and it's time that it was wiped off the map permanently. The fact that Damon will be the one to do it is just poetic justice,"

Stefan gave a mirthless laugh at my explanation. "So that's it, then? That's the great reason why you and he want to destroy my home and take away everything and everyone I care about? Because you've had a couple minorly bad things happen to you that just happened to be while you were in Mystic Falls?" He snorted disdainfully, "That is complete bullshit,"

"It's not all about you, Stefan," I chided reprovingly, "Think what you want, but I know the truth;you've had more than your fair share of misery thanks to your precious home-you're just too noble to want the retribution you deserve,"

The younger shook his head, "You're so wrong,"

I raised my hands in a gesture of mock surrender; "Hey, call it like I see it. And in response to your earlier question, no, I didn't come down here to torture you. I just wanted to see how badly Damon beat _you_ up because your girlfriend is certainly a lot worse for the wear,"

I saw a tear trickling out of the corner of Stefan's right eye at those words. "Son of a bitch,"he swore hoarsely, "If she doesn't make it out of this alive, it's going to be all my fault,"

I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

"You're so self-depreciating, Stefan,"I told him witheringly and, unable to take any more of his melancholy, I turned on my heel and walked back out of the room.

* * *

><p>(Normal POV)<p>

"Right ray of sunshine, my little bro, isn't he?"Damon said in an ironic tone as Katherine came down the stairs from talking to his brother, corner of his mouth slightly upturned.

"Oh, yeah, a regular ''always looking on the bright side'' kind of guy,"the female vampire agreed sarcastically, nodding. She bit her lip a moment before changing topics, "So what exactly is our plan for destroying this horrible little town?"

The corners of the blacknette's mouth twitched.

"Easy;that's what I had Jeremy retrieve this for,"he reached inside the front of his leather jacket and withdrew that thin, silver box carefully, holding it out so everyone could see.

"And what exactly _is_ that thing, anyway?"Jeremy asked from his side, one of his dark eyebrows raised in an arch manner.

Damon grinned at his question, showing his teeth, "This, Jeremy, is known as the dark source and its power can only be activated by the blood of the doppelganger and a spell from a phantasmist,"

"But what does it _do_?"the brunette persisted emphatically, nudging Damon in the side pointedly with his left shoulder.

Someone else answered that before Damon could.

"It will create a type of black fire which cannot be extinguished that will burn through everything in its path until such time as the one who lit it decides it is enough,"

At the sound of that deep, inhumanly emotionless baritone, all four children of the dark turned around rapidly, searching for the speaker.

It was an unfamiliar cloaked, black-eyed man, leaning up against the wall at the far end of the room, face half-hidden by his low, dark hood;Damon was the only one who recognized him.

"You-what are you doing here?"the vampire questioned shrewdly, staring the shorter male down without blinking.

The shadow didn't flinch.

"I came to tell you that you now have a deadline-as does the power of that object in your hand,"he supplied without emotion, black coals utterly impassive; "You have until the first full moon of this month to destroy this town-after that, the dark source will no longer work,"

"But that's in less than two weeks,"Jeremy pointed out indignantly, a vague frown creasing his light-skinned forehead.

The hooded male tossed him a cursory glance.

"Exactly,"he shifted his head in order to lock eyes with Damon, "Think you can handle that, Salvatore?"

Damon set his jaw in a steely expression, "Of course,"

Pale lips remained unsmiling.

"I'm trusting you to finish the job in time, then,"he said in a tone that left no room for debate-and then he vanished before anyone else could utter another word.

Jeremy stared, aghast, at the seemingly unaffected _lamia_ standing next to him.

"Damon, who the hell was that?"he demanded to know sharply, "And how can he expect you to manage destroying Mystic Falls in less than two weeks?"

The blacknette responded without meeting his eyes, "That would be the shadow who resurrected me and told me about the dark source in the first place. And since I have to use the dark source to burn this town to the ground, my deadline is the same as the one for its powers-which just so happens to be twelve days from now,"

"That's going to be quite a stretch even for you, Damon,"Katherine commented bluntly, for once without any traces if sarcasm.

The male vampire inclined his head.

"You think I don't know that?"he concurred, "I do;which is why we're going to have to kick things up a notch. After all, this isn't the only thing we need to finish off this town once and for all."

"We have the doppelganger's blood-all we need is Ghostboy's powers,"Katherine stated, jabbing a manicured thumb in Jeremy's direction, "Fully developed,"

"I'm getting there,"the phantasmist assured his companions in a placating tone, cracking his knuckles seemingly subconsciously.

"Exactly how far from ''there'' are you?"their unofficial leader enquired, steel-blue eyes like twin shards of ice as they bored holes in the former human's dark pools.

In answer to his question, Jeremy pressed a finger to one of the ink-black symbols on his chest and, in a flash, Damon was pinned against the wall by someone he didn't recognize.

"I have no idea who that is, but I'm pretty sure they're stronger than you,"the phantasmist quipped cockily, daring Damon to make a snide comment.

"Very funny,"Damon half-choked out, seeming amused, "Now get him off me,"

The ex-human rolled his brown-ebony eyes before waving a hand so the shadowy spectre dissipated in a flurry of black smoke.

Damon took a moment to regain his composure before speaking again. "As impressive as that was, summoning the dead is not the power I need you to perfect. There is another one that this, ah, _ritual _requires in order to be complete,"

"And that is?"the younger male quipped.

The black-haired _lamia _moved back to his side and replied next to his ear, "Channelling the powers of your dead girlfriend;you'll know instinctively what spell to use from there,"

"So until further notice, we're just hanger-ons,"Alaric surmised in a deceptively unconcerned tone, scuffing his boot abstractedly on the carpet.

"Pretty much, yeah,"Damon shrugged unapologetically, gloved hands retreating into the pockets of his dark slacks.

"Huh,"the former history teacher said neutrally before turning and walking out of the living room with Katherine at his heels.

* * *

><p>(Damon's POV)<p>

I followed Alaric and Katherine out of the room, blocking the ex-vampire hunter's path instantly.

"I thought you might like to know more about your shykari powers,"I said in answer to his raised, questioning eyebrow.

Katherine made no move to leave when Alaric inclined his head and I didn't force her. After all, it hardly mattered whether she heard or not;she was going to find out one way or another, anyways.

"I'm listening,"the dirty blonde prodded impatiently, crossing his arms over his chest expectantly. My ice-blue orbs met his hazel ones before I cleared my throat and started speaking again.

"Well, besides that poison thing I told you about the other day, the shykari have all sorts of other abilities;like, for instance, you can turn people blind and keep them from being tracked,"I explained truthfully, laying it all out in front of him, "I don't know about all of their powers, but I'm pretty sure you can blend into any background and change shape, too,"

Alaric blinked, bemused.

"That's...interesting,"he commented slowly, clearly for a lack of anything better to say.

I snorted. That was the understatement of the year.

"No shit,"I agreed dryly, refraining from rolling my eyes with a massive effort. I turned my attention to Katherine to ask the question that had been at the back of my mind ever since she showed up; "So how did _you_ find out you were one of us?"

She shrugged.

"It just..sort of came to me,"my ex confessed slightly hesitantly, shifting her feet, "Last week, when I heard about your new plan to destroy Mystic Falls, I heard it from a human I had compelled. The thing that made it different, though, was that the human was wearing and had ingested vervain- but I was still able to compel him. And then after I killed him, this deep, cold voice spoke in my head, and it told me I was a child of the dark, that you were one, too and where I could find you. You know the weirdest thing?The voice sounded exactly like that man who showed up earlier, the one who resurrected you,"

A frown wrinkled my forehead.

"Yeah, that doesn't seem suspicious at all,"I muttered wryly, shaking my dark head, "I don't like how much that guy seems to know about all of us, never mind the fact that I don't even know what his real name is,"

"Not really much you can do about it if you don't know who he is, let alone what he's capable of,"Katherine pointed out in an annoyingly matter-of-fact tone, "He brought you back from the dead, and returned your vampirism to you. Who knows what else he can do?"

I clenched my teeth irritably. "Yeah and that really sticks in my craw, being at such a disadvantage, even with all of my _lamia _powers,"

"Well, what can you do?"Alaric piped up offhandedly, hands retreating into the front pockets of his trousers in a gesture of nonchalance.

I made a low sound of grudging agreement.

"Let's go back inside;Jeremy's taking a turn at torturing Elena. At least hearing her scream for awhile will cheer me up,"

Alaric chuckled ruefully and the three of us went back inside the boarding house.

* * *

><p>(Elena's POV)<p>

The door to the cellar opened, but the last person I had expected to see walking in was my little brother.

Jeremy was so different now;he no longer looked anything like the brother I had known and protected-he looked like a completely different person.

His brown eyes were now almost black and there was a haunting sort of fire in them that I had never seen before;his hair had grown longer and had darkened to nearly the same shade.

And it wasn't just his appearance that had changed, either;it was the way he carried himself and his expression, too. He seemed much more confident and comfortable in his own skin.

But that wasn't even what scared me the most;no, what I was most wary of were the ink-black symbols crawling up almost every inch of skin that was exposed.

"Jeremy,"

I winced at how hoarse and ragged my voice sounded;the last little while had definitely more than taken its toll on me.

He didn't even acknowledge that I had spoken, he merely surveyed me with a kind of cold apathy that sent an involuntary shiver down my spine;so I cleared my throat and tried again.

"Why did you do it?"I asked him, unable to manage anything above a whisper, "Why did you kill Bonnie?And why are you helping _him_?"

"You can't even say his name, can you?"Jeremy spoke up suddenly, his upper lip curling in an unfamiliar disdainful sneer, "You can't even accept that he's no longer on your short leash, that he's no longer at your beck and call twenty-four seven, can you?"

I shook my head furiously in bewilderment, "What are you-?"

"Don't deny it, Elena,"my brother cut me off in such a scathing tone that I actually recoiled from it, "I don't want to hear your excuses. You strung Damon along exactly like you did Matt and then, even after he gave his life for you, you still chose his brother. You betrayed him and insulted his memory. He's damn well justified in doing this to you-hell, I'm surprised he hasn't already ripped you apart,"He flashed me a depraved grin, "Fortunately, that's become my job for today,"

My eyes widened fearfully as he tugged one of his grey gloved off and pressed his now bare finger to one of the suddenly glowing symbols on his neck.

Smoke abruptly began to fill the cellar and coalesced into a large, hulking form that I didn't recognize;whoever it was, I didn't think they were good news.

I wished I had been wrong about that.

The second that enormous figure had fully materialized, its hands were on me, pulling and yanking and scratching, rending my flesh until I was screaming in agony.

The torture didn't stop there, though;through my pain-filled haze, I distinctly saw Jeremy prod another one of those ebony symbols-and then it felt as though I was being torn apart from the inside.

"Jeremy, please,"I pleaded brokenly, tears of blood streaming down my already filthy face and seeping into my matted hair, "Please stop,"

There was an almost sadistic gleam in my brother's sable orbs and he shook his dark head at me in mock regretfulness.

"Sorry, sis, but I can't do that,"he replied flatly, not sounding the least bit apologetic, "You should have thought of this before you broke Damon's heart. Now you're paying the rightful price,"

I wanted to ask him why he cared so much what I had done to Damon, but all I could do was sob with the pain that was burning through every inch of my battered body.

The pain only intensified the longer it went on and Jeremy just stood there and watched me suffer without even batting an eyelid

What had _happened _to him?

My head was throbbing, my eyes felt as though someone was pouring salt in them and every time I opened my mouth, all that came out was another choking, agonized cry.

This couldn't possibly be real, could it?This had to be some sort of sick, twisted nightmare because there was just no way that this could actually be happening. I was dying, slowly and painfully.

And that wasn't even the worst thing.

No, the worst thing was that it was my own brother, my own flesh and blood, who was more or less killing me. And he was doing it without a single visible shred of remorse.

I didn't think I had ever felt more betrayed than I did in that moment.

Of course, Jeremy couldn't care less;he just kept right on torturing me, like almost committing fratricide was the most natural, innocuous thing in the world.

Blood was the most predominant scent filling my nostrils;that, and my own skin burning and contorting in way it definitely wasn't supposed to. Oh, God, if I survived this-which was highly unlikely-I was probably going to be crippled for the rest of my life.

Never mind me, what about Stefan?Damon was definitely going to kill him-I was a hundred percent sure of that. There was no way Damon was going to spare him this time.

I swore I could feel my heart breaking at that thought.

"If you have the peace of mind to be thinking, clearly Jeremy needs to step it up a notch,"I heard Damon's steely baritone observe in a pointed tone, no doubt looking directly at my brother as he said that;I felt the hair at the back of my neck stand on end at the sound of his emotionless tone.

"Damon,"I started in a breathless, strangled tone, but the rest of my words were lost when every bone in my body suddenly erupted into flames and I broke.

Literally.

One thing all that being tortured had taught me:my body had a very, very low tolerance for pain- one of the disadvantages of being a human.

I could feel my consciousness slipping ebbing away from me in the slowest, most agonizing way possible;I imagined that that must have been what dying piece by piece would be like.

Then, all I could see was red and I knew no more.

* * *

><p>(Alaric's POV)<p>

"What is he to you, Jeremy?"I asked from the doorway.

The male Gilbert turned around to face me, tugging the sleeves of his black hoodie back down over his olive-skinned arms.

He raised an eyebrow at my question.

"I don't have a clue who you're talking about, Ric,"the phantasmist retorted smoothly, replacing his leather gloves on his hands.

I stared at him without blinking, boring holes into his brown-ebony orbs. "Damon,"I clarified bluntly, "I want to know why _you_'re helping. I'm doing it because I owe him. Why are you?And what is he to you?"

Jeremy folded his arms across the width of his broad chest, dark eyes utterly insipid.

"He helped me take control of my own life-and I've had just about enough of this town;that's why I'm helping him,"he explained flatly, "As for what Damon is to me, he's a friend-someone I trust. Nothing more,"

My brows furrowed with obvious scepticism. "You slept with him;I think that makes him a little bit more than just a friend,"I pointed out.

Jeremy, to his credit, didn't even blink at my statement.

"You heard,"It wasn't a question.

I snorted derisively, "Who didn't?You didn't need enhanced senses to hear you screaming Damon's name the other night,"

The younger male shrugged his shoulders carelessly, "Fine, so we're friends with benefits. It's not like you aren't familiar with the situation,"

"I'm not discouraging it,"I stated quickly, "But I'm not condoning it, either. I'm just making sure you know what you're getting into;I may not be your legal guardian, but I still want to look out for you,"

Jeremy appeared to ponder that for a moment, upper lip curling ever so slightly.

"Don't bother,"he said finally, "I can look after myself. And I know exactly what I'm doing,"He jerked his chin dismissively in the direction of the exit, "You can leave now,"

_Teenagers_. I mentally scowled at him, shaking my head before heeding his words and walking back out of Damon's room.

* * *

><p>END!<p>

Well, that was a short chapter that consisted of nothing but filler really, but, oh well. Next chapter is the penultimate one and the action will start up again!

R&R!


	7. Last Chance to Feel Again

Title:Broken Strings

Author:superhackaninja5

Rating:M

Summary:see chapter one

Warnings:for this particular chapter;some senseless smut in the beginning, slash, torture, language, dark-themes and canon-twisting. Whee-hee.

Disclaimer:Standard disclaimer applies. Damon is amazing!

OMG penultimate chapter! One more chapter to go and then this story is finished. I'm a little sad;but also super excited because that means I get to start the sequel, which is going to be even more epic than this one. I LOVE DAMON! And I just randomly feel like inserting this little bit of dialogue from the most recent episode, season 4 episode 3;

Jeremy:"See?I told you I can be a badass."

Damon:"Shhhh, badasses don't say that."

That made my day.

Okay, on with the chapter.

* * *

><p>Chapter 7:Last Chance to Feel Again<p>

(Normal POV)

Jeremy leaned back against the brick wall, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched Damon drain some poor girl dry through the pouring rain.

Seemingly unconcerned by the fact that he was getting drenched to his skin, he surveyed the murder scene with bland, insipid eyes that were about as inhuman as you could get.

The vampire's blood-black gaze was on Jeremy as he continued to sink his fangs deeper into the girl's white neck. His gloved hand was wrapped around her throat and his fingers tangled in her golden brown hair, tugging her head back slowly.

His dark red orbs were alight with twisted amusement-and something else that Jeremy had only ever seen in him when he was killing. That cold, naked depravity should have sent the phantasmist running for the hills;but, in fact, it did the exact opposite.

He was absolutely mesmerized by the intensity of the look on Damon's pale, crimson-veined visage;it was a look that Jeremy was no stranger to. It was a look that drew him in like a siren's song.

When the girl had been effectively drained of every last drop of blood, Damon threw her carelessly into the mud, and then, Jeremy found himself staring up into those molten voids.

"Did you enjoy that, Jeremy?"the vampire's cloying breath rushed past his ear while leather-covered fingers traced the trails of rain down the side of his damp neck. Damon pressed him into the bricks, gripping the back of his neck almost intimately and leaning down so their noses were practically touching.

Jeremy's lips twisted into a crooked smirk. "Do you even have to ask?"he quipped lowly, catching a drop of blood as it fell from the blacknette's stained chin in his fingers and licking it off deftly.

The dark veins underneath Damon's eyes became even more pronounced as his crimson eyes followed the phantasmist's every movement, placing a hand on either side of his head and caging him in.

"Answer me,"the vampire commanded in a black, black voice and for the first time, Jeremy could truly see the beast stirring beneath the surface of his human exterior. He leaned forward and ran his tongue experimentally over Damon's still pinkish fangs, tasting the metallic sweetness of human blood. "I liked it,"Jeremy breathed, gripping the older's leather jacket tightly and lifting his chin to get better access, "I liked it a lot."

The corners of Damon's dark red mouth twitched slightly.

"Oh?"he all but purred against the corner of the brunette's mouth, his free hand moving to the back of the boy's left thigh and bringing it up over his hip, "And what was it you liked about it, hm?"

Jeremy let out a breath of laughter into Damon's mouth-which was mere centimeters away from his own.

"Well,"he pretended to think about it for a moment, "I liked the concentration on your face while you drained her. The way you lured her into your clutches was brilliant and, most of all, I liked the look in your eyes and the fact that they were on me while that girl was dying."

His words were cut off by a low moan as Damon's fangs broke the skin at the side of his neck. He moved his own hand into Damon's damp black locks, lacing his fingers into the silky strands and leaning his head back against the wall as his eyes slid shut of their own volition.

He wrapped his leg around the vampire's narrow waist, arching into him and surrendering completely. There was just something about Damon that had him utterly enraptured;he was drowning and addicted-and yet, he didn't want it to stop.

Damon's hands moved up the front of his shirt, fingers grazing over his abdomen and pinching lightly at his nipples, evoking a silent gasp from his open mouth.

The sickeningly sweet tang of his own blood filled Jeremy's mouth as Damon claimed his lips, fangs scraping teasingly over his tongue and his bottom lip. Instead of pushing him away like anyone else would have done, Jeremy pressed his tongue against those sharp points, puncturing it and bloodying their kiss.

"Damn, if you weren't already a phantasmist, you'd make a hell of a vampire, Jeremy,"Damon commented huskily, sucking on the boy's bleeding piece of flesh as he pushed their groins together forcefully, causing Jeremy to groan.

Shadows of lust fell over Jeremy's black coals as he slammed their mouths back together, simultaneously undoing Damon's zipper and sliding a hand down the front of his pants to cup him tightly. He was rewarded for that with a soft grown and Damon grinding into him roughly.

"Fuck, Damon,"Jeremy hissed breathlessly as he started to jerk the vampire off and Damon started thrusting into his hand. He heard Damon's dark chuckle as the vampire pulled his own cock out of his jeans and forced him to grip it as well.

They came at the same time, both into Jeremy's bare hand, coating his fingers in thick, white semen. The phantasmist licked them clean while Damon re-did his fly and his eyes returned to their normal shade of steel-blue.

"Well, that was...unexpected,"the vampire observed, grinning slightly as he swiped his tongue over his upper lip.

Jeremy rolled his eyes as he tucked himself back into his jeans and fixed his wet clothes so they hid the vicious bite mark on his neck. "So can we go now? I'm freezing my ass off out here,"

"Can't have that now, can we?"Damon quipped smoothly, squeezing the aforementioned body part briefly before moving off of the younger male almost reluctantly. "Yeah, I'm done. For now, at least."

The brunette pushed himself off of the wall and hooked his fingers through two of Damon's belt loops. "I liked that, too, by the way,"he whispered, nipping playfully at Damon's chin before vanishing with a timely clap of thunder.

Damon's grin grew and he shook his head before following suit.

* * *

><p>(Alaric's POV)<p>

"So I've been thinking a bit about what you said the shykari could co,"I informed Damon when he and Jeremy returned from whatever they had been doing, "And I want to know how much of what you said is actually true and how it all works exactly,"

Damon shrugged offhandedly, "Okay, so go ahead-I'm not stopping you. How do you plan on doing that, though, exactly?"

"Well, the telekinesis and telepathy can easily be tested for, as well as the turning invisible. But as for the other things you mentioned, I guess we'll just have to wait and see,"I stated flatly, hands retreating into the front pockets of my trousers.

"Do whatever you want,"Damon said indifferently, waving a gloved hand carelessly in my direction as he turned on his heel and walked up the stairs.

"Yeeah, I think I'm going to go dry off. But have fun with that, Alaric,"Jeremy declared before following after Damon.

I scowled at their retreating backs. The kid was following Damon like a little puppy dog and I really didn't like that for some reason.

Katherine was still in the room, though, and she pulled up a chair, slinging one of her long legs over the other. "This I want to see,"she said excitedly.

I gave her a sharp, searching look, but decided against commenting while I set up a stack of expendable objects on one of the tables to test for telekinesis on.

Positioning myself at the opposite end of the room, I faced the aforementioned objects, a frown of concentration furrowing my brow. I focused on the tattered journal at the top of the pile of books, willing it to move off of the table.

It rose with my thoughts, hovering briefly in midair before it began to inch its way gradually toward me. I willed it to stop-and it did.

The watching female whistled appreciatively.

"Now there's something you don't see every day,"she quipped in a wry tone, her aquamarine eyes fixed, unblinking on the floating book. My own eyes were drawn to it as well;well, Damon had definitely been right about the telekinesis being one of my latent powers.

I shook my head, breaking the momentary spell and Stefan's journal clattered to the floor, emitting a cloud of dust when it hit the carpet.

"As for the telepathy,"I muttered to myself as I picked the book up and replaced it atop the pile of others on the table behind the couch. I looked at Katherine. "How'd you like to be my guinea pig for that?"I asked.

She shrugged. "Go for it. I've never had anyone talk inside my head before. Well, not literally,, anyways,"she consented without hesitation, trying to be flip.

I rolled my eyes at her attempt at humour;some people just shouldn't make jokes. But oh well. My gaze met hers and I thought _Can you hear me?_at her with all my might.

Katheirne's eyes went slightly wide and then I hear her voice respond inside my head. _Yes._ "That is so...strange,"she said aloud, shaking her mane of dark curls in awe. I had to agree.

"That will be useful in avoiding eavesdroppers,"I mused thoughtfully, nodding to reassure myself-though it was unnecessary. I quite liked these powers;that was something I didn't need to think about.

"So what about seeing if you really can turn invisible?"Katherine piped up, switching topics as I moved away from her and returned to my original position.

I bit my bottom lip for a minute, thinking over options. "I could simply think about being invisible;see if anything happens,"I suggested slowly, unsure really what else there was to do.

Katherine brought her hands together in a slow, mocking round of applause. "Brilliant, Alaric. You're a regular Einstein,"she quipped in a caustic tone, still clapping.

I shot her a sour glance before closing my eyes and forcing myself to think about melting into the house's background.

An odd sensation began to spread throughout my body;I felt as though there were drops of cold water trickling sown my back underneath my sweater. "Well, Damon was right about the invisibility, too, it seems,"I heard the brown-haired _lamia_ declare flatly, prompting me to open my eyes.

Sure enough, when I looked down at my body, I had gone completely transparent;there was nothing to see. I was totally invisible. "Damn,"I breathed softly, feeling slightly overwhelmed by all this.

I willed myself visible again and I slowly melted back into sight. "That should be useful, too-as long as it only happens when I want it to and it isn't tied to my emotions in any way,"

"Yeah, that would be a disaster,"the other said mildly, making it sound like a throwaway matter of no real concern. A colossal understatement.

I chose not to pass comment on that, either-mostly because I didn't really have a suitable response.

Things were definitely changing;before the deaths of Klaus and the other Originals, I never imagined I would ever see this woman again. Now here we were, working together under Damon's leadership to destroy the town we had once all done everything to protect.

We were all changing, Damon especially. He had almost seemed human while he had been in love with Elena, but now he was more the callous, unfeeling vampire than ever before. And for all the times he hadn't wanted to be selfish, now he wasn't looking out for anyone but himself.

Yeah, things were completely different now.

* * *

><p>(Stefan's POV)<p>

It's funny how mercurially your life can change in the space of just a couple of weeks. Seventeen days ago, I had been relatively happy;I mean, yeah, I had been grieving the death of my older brother, but the rest of the people I cared about and the girl I loved had been alive and well.

Now every one of those others were dead, Elena was a captive and my home was about to be destroyed by my resurrected, vengeful elder brother.

Sitting here, alone, bound to a chair in the basement cell I once tried to contain Damon in, I couldn't help but give in to my misery and hopelessness. It wasn't like I really had any other options at that point; Damon had gotten much stronger than any ordinary vampire-or even an Original-since coming back from the dead and he wouldn't to listen to reason anymore. And if he hadn't killed Elena already, there was no doubt in my mind that he would do so soon. He was probably just drawing it out to make her suffer as much as possible, like he was doing to me.

Like I had told Katherine, I had nothing left now, least of all hope.

Every single part of my body was on fire and my mind was screaming for death, for it all just to be over so I could maybe have a chance at finding some semblance of peace. But I knew that Damon would never give me my wish;no, he wanted me to die only while he burned Mystic Falls to cinders. He'd said that it would be, and I quote, "a fitting death for the brother who had betrayed him," Only he'd said it with that insidious gleam that I knew all to well in his glacial ice crystals.

So now I was just waiting, praying for death and it was even more agonizing then denying the transition had been. Because my entire system was shutting down in the slowest and most painful way possible. Everything hurt like hell;my throat was dry and felt like sandpaper;my vision was blurry and out of focus;my limbs were like lead weights and I could hardly move-and, perhaps worst of all, I was constantly hearing the screams and cries of all the people I had failed to save echoing inside my head, over and over again without rest.

This was far more terrible than anything I had ever experienced in all my 165 years-and that was definitely saying something.

I had sunk so low, I wanted to take my own life once before, but that was almost nothing compared to this. This was the bottom-I couldn't possibly sink any lower.

I couldn't take it any longer.

I just wanted it to end-before I succumbed to my madness.

* * *

><p>(Jeremy's POV)<p>

I don't know what possessed me to do it, but for some reason, I just decided to pay a visit to my older sister. She was in the cell next to Stefan and she didn't even know it;I wanted to see what this captivity was doing to her, since I had already borne witness to what it was doing to her boyfriend.

When I walked through the door, she looked almost as if she had been expecting me. Her dull brown eyes were hard and unblinking when she met my impassive obsidian gaze.

"Comfy, sis?"I asked her mockingly, my upper lip curling in a slight sneer as I tucked one of my ankles behind the other and my hands found the pockets of my black hooded sweater..

Elena shook her head bitterly, clearly having to struggle to continue to look me in the eye while she thought of a suitable response.

"What happened to you, Jeremy?"she finally whispered in a hoarse voice that was more of a croak than anything else as she furiously blinked back tears, "I don't know you anymore. What happened to make you become this?"

I grinned crookedly, "You sure you really wanna know the answer to that?"

My sister grimaced.

"Yes, I do,"she stated firmly.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I was shown that I had more power than just a silly anti-death ring,"I started to explain in a blunt tone, not leaving anything out, "I can bring back the dead, manipulate them to my own purposes-and I can kill with a single touch. I've seen and experienced for myself all the misery that being shackled to your humanity causes-and I just don't have the time for it anymore,"

"But what are you doing with _him_? Why do you want to help him destroy our home?!"Elena questioned, aghast, like she didn't want to believe what she was hearing.

I could have cared less, though, so I just gave it to her straight.

"Because he's the one person who doesn't treat me like some naive little kid; he told me about my phantasmist powers and taught me how to use them. And as for why I want to help him destroy this accursed town, well,"I pretended to think about it for a few seconds, barely containing my mirth, "I'm going to let you in on a little secret, my dear sister;it's because I love Damon and I, unlike you, am not going to string him along for the better part of a year only to choose his brother because I am not a heartless bitch,"

I spat that last part at her with such venom that she actually flinched, appearing severely wounded by my words.

"I didn't-"Elena began to protest, but I held up a hand to forestall her, giving her a withering glare. "I told you before, I don't want to hear your bullshit excuses, Elena. The only good thing that came out of your failing as a human being is that Damon is no longer dead-set on protecting you or trying to keep you happy, so now he can be who he really is-and that is a killer, whether you like it or not,"I stated with an air of almost frigid calm.

Elena's eyes were practically popping out of their sockets by then.

"And you love him for being a killer?"she quipped sharply, obviously horrified.

I stared her down.

"I love him for who he is,"I retorted matter-of-factly, "I don't try to change him or make him act like a human.. He's a vampire and I like that. It's too bad you didn't see that;maybe then you wouldn't be in this mess,"I raked a final, scathing glance over my disgraced older sister before turning on my heel to leave, "Have fun burning, Elena. You more than deserve it,"

* * *

><p>(Normal POV)<p>

"So I have to learn how to harness Bonnie's powers in order to be ready to help you destroy this accursed town for good?"

"That would be correct,"Damon confirmed in an offhand manner, making it sound like a throwaway matter of no real importance;but it, of course, was.

Jeremy scratched his head thoughtfully, clearly contemplating that new bit of information. "So is there really a way to practice that skill, or am I expected to just get it on the spot?"he wondered, arching a dark, chestnut eyebrow curiously.

A frown briefly wrinkled the vampire's forehead before he fell impassive once again.

"No, you can practice it pretty much the same way you did your other powers;figure out which of those symbols on your body does that particular thing and then your brain will do the rest without your having to think about it,"he said truthfully with the air of someone giving a mini-lecture.

The phantasmist shrugged his shoulders.

"Okay, then, killing more random people it is,"he declared flippantly, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his black coat as he made to walk out the front door.

"Have fun,"Damon called after him-he couldn't hide a slight smile at that.

Once out of the Salvatore house-their base of operations, for now-he made his way into town, looking for suitable victims to train this power on.

His first unsuspecting victim of the day was a young boy who couldn't have been more than thirteen-which, incidentally, was even younger than Jeremy. The boy didn't even notice when Jeremy came to stand behind him, tugging off one of his gloves to press a bare finger to the flashing symbol inked into the front of his throat.

Instead of the usual black smoke that came after, there was a strobe of green light that erupted out of his fingertips and struck the oblivious human.

The boy was sent sprawling to his knees, clutching his head and screaming in obvious agony. Blood spurted from the human's ears and came pouring down both sides of his face in thick, dark red rivers that stopped at the collar of his sweater. It bore an uncanny resemblance to what Damon referred to as Bonnie's "witchy migraine".

When the human male collapsed to the ground, still clutching his head like he was trying to keep something inside, Jeremy simply stared, slightly awed by what had just happened.

_Well, that was...unexpected. _He mused, raising his eyebrows briefly.

Leaving the dead kid behind, Jeremy cast a final look at him before departing to look for further test subjects.

~Time Lapse~

Hours later, when the sun had already set, he returned to the boarding house, satisfied with his progress for the day.

Damon was waiting for him when he got there, though his eyes were closed and he had his arms crossed over his chest, as if he were simply passing time.

"I think I've got it. We're ready for the final stages,"the phantasmist told him confidently when he was standing directly in front of the _lamia_, not even bothering with a greeting beforehand.

The blacknette's eyes slowly slid open, steel-blue ice slivers utterly insipid. Jeremy had the peculiar impression of being X-rayed while those cold orbs surveyed him without blinking.

"Well,"the _lamia _said finally, a vague smile quirking the corners of his pale mouth, "That does brighten things a bit, doesn't it?"

Jeremy nodded hesitantly.

"What happens now, then?"the brunette quipped curiously, meeting Damon's icy gaze with a questioning look in his own obsidian orbs.

The corners of Damon's mouth twitched slightly.

"You've somewhat mastered the appropriate power-I have the dark source and your sister is downstairs, just waiting for me to take her blood, so I think it's time we get around to doing exactly that,"he declared thoughtfully, beckoning to his companion as he opened his front door.

(Damon's POV)

The two of us re-entered my house and descended the staircase to the basement cellar where I had locked Elena and my brother;although they were in two different cells, of course.

I opened the large steel door after unbarring it and walked inside with the male Gilbert close at my heels.

"Damon. What do you want now?"the girl I had once professed to love greeted me in a hostile, but cracked tone before I could say a word.

When I faced her, though, her eyes weren't focused on me;she was staring past me, unblinking, at her younger brother, and there was something in her brown orbs that I couldn't quite define-but I was sure I didn't like it.

I cleared my throat a little theatrically to get her attention on to me.

"I'm sure it must be heartbreaking to see what I've turned your brother into, Elena, but please do try to stay on point,"I intoned dully, knowing I sounded bored rather than threatening, "You'll be quite interested to know that your blood is the final thing that I need to destroy your abomination of a hometown,"

Her mouth fell open in horror.

"Well, you can't have it,"she spat through gritted teeth, trying-and failing-to sound authoritative.

I gave her my very best vampire smile.

"I'm afraid you don't really have a choice in the matter, _love_,"I countered with feigned regret, "Jer? Be a good sport and get your sister's blood for me,"

The phantasmist obeyed me without hesitation, withdrawing an empty glass vial from his coat pocket and a stiletto knife from his left boot as he advanced toward his sister silently.

"Jeremy, don't-"Elena started to plead, but her words were cut off by a yelp of pain as Jeremy slashed open a cut on her wrist and held the vial underneath it to collect the blood as it streamed out. When it was filled to the brim, he pulled it away and stoppered it closed before stepping away without a word.

"Excellent,"I commented, allowing a note of excitement to enter my voice. I locked eyes with the female Gilbert, my upper lip curling into a cold sneer. "Well, these are your final hours alive, Elena. Any last words?"

"Don't do this, Damon, please. I know this isn't you,",y former love pleaded with me desperately, distraught. I simply shook my dark head at her. "On the contrary, Elena, this is very much me. In fact, the only reason I stopped being me was because I fancied myself in love with you. But you rejecting me repeatedly exposed me to the truth:that even if you had chosen me, I wouldn't have been happy pretending to be someone I'm not."

"But you're happy being a murderous psychopath?"she shot at me tensely, clearly forcing back her emotions at this.

"I'm a vampire, Elena-it's who I am. And if you had accepted that, then maybe you would have had a chance at making it out of this alive,"I told her in a frigidly matter-of-fact manner, "Unfortunately for you, now it's too late. Goodbye, Elena;enjoy Hell,"

And with that elegant parting sentence, Jeremy and I exited the cell, leaving her alone once again.

* * *

><p>(Normal POV)<p>

All four children of the dark were gathered in the boarding house's living room an hour later, waiting for Damon to make his announcement.

"Jeremy's ready to use the ritual spell,"the black-haired vampire spoke confidently into the silence with an authority that no one had ever really heard him speak with before;"And we already had the doppelganger's blood,"

"So what does that mean?"Alaric questioned slowly, though he was sure he already knew the answer.

Damon grinned darkly.

"It means we're ready to burn Mystic Falls to the ground. Mystic Falls D-day part two happens tomorrow night,"

* * *

><p>OMG ONE MORE CHAPTER! Yes, the beginning scene was just plotless smut, but meh. :D<p> 


	8. This Endless Fire

Title:Broken Strings

Authoress:superhackaninja5

Rating:M

Summary:see chapter one

Warnings:for this particular chapter, a little language, some slash and lots of character death.

Disclaimer:Standard disclaimer applies. If you don't know by now that I own nothing, then FAIL AT LIFE.

OMFG last chapter! Can you believe it's finally here? 8 chapters, over 20,000 words. First complete multi-chapter story for me. :) I've even already started writing the sequel;first chapter of the sequel is done so that should be up soon. Well, enjoy this final installment of Broken Strings until then.

* * *

><p>Chapter 8:This Endless Fire<p>

(Normal POV)

"Your deadline is looming,"

Damon turned to face the speaker of those words and found himself facing Alaric leaning against the door frame in a deceptively relaxed position.

The others in the room faced him as well as the blue-eyed vampire raised one of his ebony eyebrows at the shykari coolly.

"It's _our _deadline now, isn't it, Ric?After all, you're meant to be helping me,"he pointed out, crossing his arms over the width of his chest expectantly.

Alaric shrugged seemingly indifferently, "Yeah, sure. Whatever,"

"So what about this ''dark source'' we're supposed to be using to destroy the town?"Jeremy interjected curiously, "How exactly is it supposed to work?" "Yeah, I think we'd all like to know that, actually,"the female _lamia _piped up in a matter-of-fact tone.

Damon inclined his head.

"Okay, then. Since you all want to know, I'll explain,"he cleared his throat perfunctorily before continuing, "It is an ancient artifact that can only be activated by a child of the dark-hence the name ''dark source''. Furthermore, it was given to me by the one who resurrected me, who you met last week. And finally, the only way to use it is by pouring the blood of the doppelganger inside and then you, Jeremy, have to use that ritual spell I told you about to conjure the flames,"

The phantasmist blinked, faintly bemused.

"You know, even though you told me how to work it, I still don't really know what this ''ritual spell'' is,"he stated truthfully.

"It's just something that only your witchy ex-girlfriend would know, being a Bennett witch and all that,"the blacknette explained smoothly, "I can't get any more specific than that,"

"So is that why you had me kill her, then? So I could use her powers for this?"the brunette asked, though his tone was not an accusatory one.

"Ding ding ding! Got it in one,"Damon confirmed dryly without hesitation, "Although that wasn't the only reason. She would have gotten in the way if I had let her live."

Jeremy couldn't disagree with that.

"If this is happening tonight, what's on the agenda for today then?"he wondered aloud, brown-ebony orbs focused on Damon, like everyone else wasn't even there.

The black-haired vampire looked back at him without blinking.

"Well, I didn't have much planned besides the end,"he shrugged offhandedly, "Did you want to do some thing in particular?"

Jeremy's eyes flicked carefully back and forth before he voiced his thoughts: "Could we talk?"He gave the elder a meaningful look, "Alone?"

"And that would be our cue,"Katherine declared knowingly, casting a cursory glance at the male Gilbert, "Come on, Alaric. These two don't want us here for this."

Alaric scowled but followed the female _lamia _out of the sitting room nevertheless.

* * *

><p>(Jeremy's POV)<p>

I waited until Damon and I were alone to pose the question that had been niggling at the back of my mind for the better part of the last two days.

"Why me, Damon?"I inquired tentatively, dark eyes focused on the floor, "I mean, I understand why I'm involved in your plot to destroy Mystic Falls, but why did you give me a choice? And why sleep with me?"

"You wanted it,"the vampire pointed out bluntly, his Arctic eyes impossible to read, "You practically begged me to sleep with you,"

I didn't deny it.

"You're avoiding my other question,"I chastised persistently, "Why did you give me a choice in helping you when you could have just compelled me and saved yourself a whole bunch of time?"

The elder child of the dark wasn't immediately forthcoming with a response;instead, he silently ran a gloved hand through his black locks, appearing to be considering what he should say.

Finally, after a few tense minutes, he spoke again; "Would you believe me if I said it was because I actually liked you?"

I froze when I heard that. Of all the things I had expected Damon to say, _that _ had definitely not been on the list. "It depends,"I said in a carefully neutral tone.

"On what?"Damon quipped slowly, his ivory featured schooled into an expression of cool indifference.

I met his ice eyes fully and without flinching.

"On whether or not you'd actually mean it,"I told him honestly, both of my hands stuffed in the pockets of my black sweatshirt so Damon wouldn't see them clenching.

Damon blurred and then suddenly, we were standing nose-to-nose and I was staring directly up into the _lamia_'s frigid blue orbs.

"Oh, I mean it,"Damon declared in a tone so soft I had to strain to hear him over my racing heart, "You have no idea just how much I mean it."

That confession, coming from Damon, of all people, was enough to make me blush and I looked down at my shoes, unsure of what exactly I could say to that.

I heard the blacknette let out a rueful laugh.

"I should have known that that was how you were going to react,"he mumbled bitterly, "After all, it's the same way your sister and Katherine did when I said the same thing to them. People can fuck me, but they never love me,"

"Damon, no, wait!"my hand closed around the latter's wrist before he could leave, "I didn't-"I inhaled deeply before explaining, "I was just surprised, that's all. I mean, like I said, why me?"

The vampire's gloved hand took hold of my chin and lifted it so I was once again staring right into those steel-blue ice slivers.

"You really want to know?"he asked quietly, thumb brushing the underside of my bottom lip lightly.

I nodded emphatically. "I do,"

The corners of Damon's pale mouth quirked slightly.

"Well, besides the obvious, you, unlike your sister, never lead me on. You're strong and mastered your powers incredibly fast. You have a sarcasm streak to match my own and you're helping me destroy your home,"he paused, frowning, "Why _are _ you helping me, by the way? Like you said, I didn't threaten or compel you to,"

I bit my lip, my blush deepening. "Because I like you, too,"I admitted lowly, knowing Damon could hear me perfectly well, despite the reduced volume.

But Damon apparently didn't care because he leaned in until our noses were touching and said smoothly, "I'm sorry. I didn't quite catch that,"

I rolled my eyes expressively. "I said it was because I like you, too, you asshole,"I repeated spitefully, in a louder voice this time.

"I've been called worse,"Damon shrugged off the insult nonchalantly. He slanted his lips over mine and pressed our mouths together softly. "Thank you,"he whispered into our kiss.

"For what?"I queried in confusion, pressing our foreheads together and wrapping my arms around the vampire's waist.

Damon pressed a second kiss to the corner of my mouth before answering, "For breaking my crappy track record with love,"

"Heh, in that case, I should be thanking you for the same thing,"I chuckled ironically as he pulled me closer so my head was against his chest.

* * *

><p>(Elena's POV)<p>

I knew the end was finally here. I could tell by the look of twisted pleasure currently gracing Damon's chiseled, ivory face as he walked casually into my cell, a pair of black Predator sunglasses covering his twin steel-blue orbs.

"Come to gloat? God knows you've earned it,"I quipped in an acerbic tone, a mirthless smile twisting my dry, cracked and bloody lips. It was painful, but I kept it up, anyways, refusing to show Damon just how much he had broken me.

Damon, of course, saw right through my feeble facade and he laughed-an icy, humourless sound that I had never heard from him before in my life.

"You're really pathetic, you know that, Elena?"he shook his head at me disparagingly, tone colder than Arctic pack ice. "Why?"I shot at him hoarsely, "Because I didn't choose you over Stefan? Or because I don't want to give you the satisfaction of seeing all the misery you've caused me over the course of just a few weeks?"

"Because you broke so easily. You and Stefan both, you're so weak that it's actually quite sad,"the elder Salvatore replied disdainfully, looking at me like I was a slug or something equally as low.

I stared at him, open-mouthed and appalled by his words.

"You killed every single one of my friends, corrupted my younger brother and you're about to burn my home to the ground, and me and my boyfriend along with it,"I burst out, furiously fighting back tears, "I don't know anyone who wouldn't break at that,"

Damon's upper lip curled.

"The benefit of giving up your humanity?None of that bothers you anymore. And as a bonus, I get to kill my brother and the girl who betrayed me without a second's hesitation,"the vampire declared softly, but the words still spoke volumes.

"I never claimed to love you, Damon. I didn't do anything wrong,"I valiantly attempted to reason with him, but he just shook his head at me for a second time.

"Do you really think that is only about that?"he scoffed with unconcealed derision, "Come on, Elena. Even you aren't _that _stupid,"

"Then tell me, what _is _it all about?What are these oh-so-great reasons you have for wanting to destroy this town and killing a thousand innocent people?"I challenged in a withering tone, my brown eyes hardening fractionally. I couldn't wait to hear this.

Damon just gave me a mirthless chuckle.

"I don't have to justify myself to you anymore, Elena-not now or ever again. You no longer mean a thing to me-and neither does this town. And I get rid of things when they are no longer of any value to me. That's all there is to it,"

"I don't believe that,"I stated skeptically, "I know you, Damon,and if that were really all there was to it, then you wouldn't have bothered with drawing it out like this. I don't believe that for a second,"

The elder Salvatore shrugged nonchalantly.

"Believe whatever you want, Elena. I could care less,"he said in an almost lazy tone, waving a careless hand in my direction. "It's not going to change anything;you and my darling brother are still going to burn to death when this town does and there's nothing you can do about it."

"Yeah, congratulations,"I snapped acidly in the most scathing voice I could muster, "It's not like you even gave any of us a chance to change that,"

"Why should I?"Damon retorted lowly, "You never gave _me _as chance to be the one you chose-or the one who got the credit for saving your life. When I died, you didn't even wait a week before running back into Stefan's arms and forgiving him for everything he did to you while under Klaus' influence and while trying to get revenge on him. He tried to kill you-and that was the one line I never crossed."

"Damon-"I started placatingly.

"No, Elena,"he cut me off forcefully, baring his fangs. He inhaled deeply before declaring in barely above a whisper, "We're done. I'm done-with you, with my brother and most of all, with this town, for good. I'm finished."

He didn't even spare me a parting glance before leaving-and I watched him walk out that steel door, knowing that that was the last time I was ever going to see him.

I had made my choice-and he had made his.

It was over between us, once and for all.

* * *

><p>(Damon's POV)<p>

Unbelievable. That's what it was.

That, after only a month-during which I died, was brought back to life and seized with an unconquerable desire for revenge against Mystic Falls-the end had finally arrived. I was about to destroy the town I used to call my home, once and for all.

The other children of the dark and I were once again gathered in my sitting room, where Jeremy and I were just getting ready to leave.

"It's almost time,"I announced calmly to my companions, "We're finally ready to get this show on the road. So, last thoughts?"

"This town deserves this,"Jeremy spoke up, an almost savage gleam in his dark eyes. "This should have happened the second you died for all these bastards who dared to call themselves ''innocent''."He spat that last word scathingly.

I couldn't help but grin at that last statement.

"Aw, Jeremy, I'm touched that you think so,"I reached over and affectionately entwined my gloved fingers with his-I was, as hard as it was to believe, genuinely happy with events as they currently stood.

"Oh, get a room, the both of you,"Katherine scowled expressively, crossing her arms over her chest, causing the corners of my mouth to twitch in amusement.

Alaric rolled his eyes. "So, while you two are off lighting this town on fire, where are the rest of us supposed to be?"he questioned shrewdly, indicating himself and the female _lamia_.

"As far away from here as possible,"I supplied matter-of-factly, "The dark source may only be controlled by a child of the dark, but that doesn't mean it can't harm one of us. So I've set up some houses just a mile or two out of Atlanta. Addresses are in my car;take them as soon as we leave and go there,"

The shykari inclined his head.

"Are we ready to go, then?"the phantasmist asked me, releasing my hand to lift his jacket up off of the couch and pull it back on.

"Yeah,"I consented, "Let's get going." I turned back to face Alaric and Katherine before walking out of the door. "See you guys on the other side, then, I guess,"

"Good luck,"I heard Alaric call to us as the former human and I departed from the boarding house together, the door slamming shut behind us.

As we vanished and re-materialized on the cliff that overlooked the entire town, I found myself thinking a bit about the irony of what was about to happen here.

Once upon a time, I would have done anything to protect this town and its people;now I was willing to do anything to destroy it. Talk about turning over a new leaf;this town more than deserved it for all the misery and pain it had caused me since I returned.

My light blue eyes rose to look at the sky. The sun was just beginning to set over the horizon, bathing the sky in abstract shades of red and yellow.

I allowed myself a slight smile as I realized what that truly signified.

Mystic Falls was about to burn.

And there was nothing anyone could do to stop it.

* * *

><p>(Normal POV)<p>

From a distance, Mystic Falls seemed the same as any other small town;quiet, isolated, and peaceful. At first glance, no one would guess that it was home to all forms of anguish and carnage.

Two figures appeared on the cliff overlooking the town as the sun was beginning the final stages of setting, both clad in black and both their gazes trained on Mystic Falls from behind the dark lenses of designer sunglasses.

"Are you ready for this, Jeremy?"the taller asked his companion lowly out of the corner of his pale mouth.

The former human inclined his hooded head.

"Whenever you are, Damon,"he acquiesced, a darkly determined gleam in his ebony eyes as he withdrew a vial filled with crimson liquid from the pocket of his black hoodie.

Damon reached inside the front of his leather jacket and pulled out the dark source from its depths, lifting off the thin, silver lid in a single, fluid motion before holding out a gloved hand for the vial.

His companion handed it over without comment after uncorking the stopper and Damon then proceeded to pour the contents into the gleaming silver box.

The sky overhead was just starting to darken but as the metallic container filled slowly with the doppelganger's blood, a full moon began to rise from the clouds, casting a pale glow over the two males and their surroundings.

When the box was suffused to the brim with thick, viscous liquid, the vampire set it down carefully at his feet;the second it touched the ground, it began to shake.

"And that would be my cue,"the male Gilbert declared, rolling up his left sleeve and pressing a slender finger to one of the symbols inked into his olive-skinned forearm.

A cloud of profuse, grey smoke began to envelope him and his taller accompaniment;the turbid red fluid rose steadily out of the box in an acrid stream, turning the smoke a shade of charcoal black.

"_Incendia,"_Damon whispered with a sort of finality in his tone, steel-blue eyes turning to ice beneath his thin lashes.

The smoke swirled almost cloyingly around the two children of the dark and then suddenly, it flared into a maelstrom of jet black flames that rushed rapidly towards the unsuspecting town with a preternatural speed that even the fastest vampire couldn't even hope to match.

The blacknette grinned crookedly then.

"And now, Mystic Falls burns,"

* * *

><p><em>More than several thousand years ago, the first war between the children of the light and the children of the dark was only just beginning.<em>

_Death ruled the dark._

_And the one and only Lux angel, as his polar opposite, ruled the light._

_When it first started, it was easy;there was meant to be a balance between the two forces. Neither side could ever have forseen the eternal it would turn into._

_The first battle lasted over eight hundred years, until finally, the ruler of the light, Castiel, decided that he could no longer stand the butchering and bloodshed and proposed a truce;both armies would cease their fire and they would exist alongside one another in peace. The shadow agreed to these terms, and the sanctuaries were established._

_But it was going to be that simple._

_There was too much bad blood between the two races, not the least of which stemming from the fact that the Lux angel had been cursed and had his powers depleted. Twice._

_So the covenant wasn't upheld;but, contrary to popular belief, it was not the dark who made the decision to break it first._

_Out of thirty-three sanctuaries, only a single one had to be destroyed in order for the truce to shatter completely. Now the first domino has fallen, it all begins again._

_Loyalties will be tested._

_Choices will be made._

_And this time, no one will be safe from the resulting crossfire._

_Not even the humans._

_9 lives will be uprooted and become about only a single thing;_

_Survival._

* * *

><p>HOLY CRAP I'M FINALLY DONE!From March until today, that's how long this story took. My very first completed Fanfic.<p>

Until the sequel, which's first chapter should be up like next week.

Superhackaninja5

Hope you enjoyed this masterpiece as much as I did.


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